'Rich Kids of Tehran' relaunches

Rich Kids of Tehran, an Instagram account that shows high class adolescents from the Iranian capital, returned to minor activity, after being taken down on Thursday (9.10.2014) following massive media coverage and criticism.

Inspired by the massively successful Rich Kids of Instagram, the Iranian equivalent aimed "to show the world the good side of Iran" - at least that is what it said in the original profile description.

"Every time Iran is mentioned on TV or news, they always talk negatively and we are trying to show the good side," the creators told the Business Insider.

The account, which was created last month, already has more than 100,000 followers. Some 300 pictures were uploaded to it, sent by people from all over the country – but most of them were from Tehran. Last Thursday, the public account was made private, and all its photos and related accounts were deleted.

The "shut down [was] due to the high amount of false publicity," according to the profile description after the account was reactivated on Sunday (12.10.2014).

Four images were uploaded using a new hashtag, #RKOT (Rich Kids of Tehran). Before the majority of the photos were deleted on Thursday, the Iranian government blocked it.

Rich Kids of Tehran wanted to show the world "how beautiful Tehran and people from Tehran are," according to the people behind it. It featured photos of Iranian youths flaunting Maseratis and Rolexes, tanning by the pool - living the good life. A counter Instagram account was started in response - Poor Kids of Tehran. It shows what is believed to be the majority of children living in the city. Its operators have quickly reacted to the new hashtag by changing their profile picture to an alternative hashtag: #PKOT - Poor Kids of Tehran.

Perhaps the most interesting photos on Rich Kids of Tehran were the ones showing women in revealing evening gowns, not because of their content but for strictly violating the Iranian dress code that mandates head scarves. Other images showed what appears to be alcohol, which is also illegal.

House parties and drinking are quite popular among the ruling elite class in the country, according to the Business Insider. But this is one of the few times that alcohol consumption has been shown publicly on social media so freely. Their socio-economic situation promises the youngsters immunity from the regime's strict rules, although it seems now as if the publicity the account has received exceeded the limits of what is deemed acceptable in Iran.