Why "Colorful Droplets Falling on an Empty Chair" Became a Problem: The Reason "Tehran’s Starbucks" Was Shut Down

The Financial News reported that authorities in the Islamic Republic of Iran have closed a popular local coffee franchise widely known as "Tehran’s Starbucks." The closure reportedly came after allegations that an image on its takeout coffee cups mocked the late Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei, the former Supreme Leader.
Foreign media outlets including Agence France-Presse (AFP) and the New York Post reported on the 29th (local time) that Iranian authorities had issued an order against the well-known cafe chain Ramiz Cafe.
Ramiz Cafe is a homegrown coffee brand that has become a key cultural and social space for young people in the conservative Islamic state, where alcohol is banned. Known for its distinctly youthful atmosphere, it is said to operate more than 40 branches in Tehran alone. In particular, during the 2022 protests against compulsory hijab, often referred to as the "hijab revolution," its outlets served as gathering points where citizens met and communicated.
This time, Iranian authorities shut down Ramiz Cafe locations over the design printed on their takeout cups. The image is a work by renowned artist Parsid Mesghali, originally used as a poster for the International Kids and Youth Film Festival held in Tehran in 1975.
The illustration shows what looks like a charred or blackened chair, with colorful droplets pouring down onto it. On the back of the cup, the phrase "Spring is coming" is printed.
However, hardliners in Iran interpreted the image as mocking the empty chair of the assassinated Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei. According to AFP, they suspected that the chair represented the one in Khamenei’s office, while the falling droplets symbolized a bomb dropped on his office.

After the closure order was issued, Ramiz Cafe released a statement on its official social networking service (SNS) account, denying the allegations.
Ramiz Cafe stated, "This cup was created to commemorate Nowruz, the New Year festival celebrated in Iran and across Central Asia, and its design had been finalized long ago," adding, "From final approval of the design to production, the process took several months. All products had already been delivered to each store before Khamenei’s death."
Despite this explanation, the cafe chain was unable to avoid the authorities’ hard-line decision to shut it down.
Local media reported that the closure order applied only to branches located in Tehran, not across the entire Islamic Republic of Iran. The New York Post, however, reported that all branches had been forced to close. In addition, Ramiz Cafe’s SNS accounts show no posts related to the shutdown, and its official website is currently inaccessible.
y27k@fnnews.com Reporter Seo Yoon-kyung Reporter