Tehran (Iran) - A harmless dance on a war memorial could have fatal consequences for two young people in Iran . They could face years in prison - or in the worst case, the death penalty!

As the Daily Mail reports, two girls were arrested by Iranian police after posting a video of themselves dancing on Instagram .

The footage shows the pair in jeans and skimpy tops dancing at a war memorial - a monument dedicated to the victims of the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988).

However, what initially looks like a harmless dance performance turned into a nightmare for the girls. The Iranian authorities described their outfits as "inappropriate" and blocked their Instagram profiles.

Dancing has been banned in Iran since the Islamic Revolution in 1979 and the girls could now be punished for their "misconduct". According to the Iranian penal code, they could face up to 99 lashes for the "crime against public modesty".

While the fate of the two is still unclear, this drastic restriction of freedom in Iran is being discussed around the world - especially as they are not the first to have come into conflict over a dance performance.

In 2014, a scandalous verdict made headlines in Iran when six young men and women were sentenced to a year's probation and 91 lashes simply for dancing to the music of Pharrell Williams ' hit "Happy".

But that was just the beginning - in 2018, 18-year-old Maedeh Hojabri was arrested after posting videos of herself dancing on social media.

Her arrest sparked outrage across the country.

As a sign of solidarity, many Iranian women began sharing dance videos and campaigning for their freedom and the right to dance with hashtags such as #dancetofreedom and #dancing_isn't_a_crime.