It looks as if lawmakers in Tehran, capital city of Iran, doesn’t have enough control over it’s people. Thus giving them the idea that they can make ownership of dogs a criminal act. But, it goes deeper than that.
Jihad Watch | Iran: Parliament mulling bill to criminalize dog ownership
The Muslim revulsion for dogs comes from Muhammad: “Ibn Mughaffal reported: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) ordered killing of the dogs, and then said: What about them, i. e. about other dogs? and then granted concession (to keep) the dog for hunting and the dog for (the security) of the herd, and said: When the dog licks the utensil, wash it seven times, and rub it with earth the eighth time.” — Sahih Muslim 551
And from the Shi’ite side of the divide, which pertains more specifically to this story, here is a contemporary voice — Iraq’s Ayatollah Sistani:
The following ten things are essentially najis [unclean]:1. Urine
2. Faeces
3. Semen
4. Dead body
5. Blood
6. Dog
7. Pig
8. Kafir [unbeliever — i.e., non-Muslims]
9. Alcoholic liquors
10. The sweat of an animal who persistently eats najasat [unclean things].
Sharia Alert from the Islamic Republic of Iran: “The Latest Enemies of Iran: Dogs and Their Owners,” by Azadeh Moaveni in Time Magazine, April 19:
For much of the past decade, the Iranian government has tolerated what it considers a particularly depraved and un-Islamic vice: the keeping of pet dogs.