Parkour star arrested in Iran over rooftop kiss

A parkour athlete has been arrested in Iran over photos that shows him kissing a woman on a rooftop.

Alireza Japalaghy, a popular parkour athlete, was arrested after photos of the couple kissing on a rooftop were widely circulated on social media last week.

According to BBC, Tehran police said their "unconventional moves, which were contrary to custom and Sharia" law led to their arrest.

Japalaghy had posted a series of photos and videos last week showing him and an unidentified woman in sports wear hanging off buildings and kissing.

Under the Islamic dress code, women can only show their face, hands and feet in public and are supposed to wear only modest colours.

In an Instagram video on Monday, he said he had received 'suspicious calls' telling him to turn himself in or be arrested publicly.

His brother posted an update on the same account the next day, saying Alireza had been taken from their home and arrested.

According to police chief Rahimi, the woman in Japalaghy's photos 'will also be arrested soon'.

His detention was widely critcised on social media, with many speaking out in support of the parkour athlete who is famous in Iran for his acrobatic stunts.

Parkour is an extreme sport born in France in the 1990s that combines the efficiency of movement across the urban landscape with death-defying leaps.

It has a following in neighbourhoods of west Tehran, where high-rise residential buildings are closely connected.

Japalaghy started free-running when his father -- an ex policeman -- went missing during his retirement and never came home.