Lighting fires that brightened the night sky, followers of Iran’s minority Zoroastrian religion marked the Sadeh festival in several cities, celebrating the end of the coldest winter days.
On the south-western outskirts of Tehran on Tuesday evening, several Zoroastrian priests and priestesses, dressed in white from head-to-toe to symbolise purity, led young followers to light a giant bonfire in a joyful ceremony.
Iran’s 85-plus million population are mostly Shiite Muslims. The country has been ruled by hard-line clerics who preach a strict version of Islam since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
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