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Iranian authorities have launched an investigation after a images surfaced of women appearing on TV with President Hassan Rouhani without wearing the mandatory hijab.

A live broadcast of a festival caused outrage after a five women attended with their hair showing, wearing a veil-like costume instead of the hijab.

Hard-line Iranian media outlets attacked the organisers, saying their lack of hijab showed a “suspicious lack of respect towards the country’s Islamic guidelines.”

Tehran’s government distanced itself from the festival, saying they were not involved in organising the event and had only attended as guests.

“The government was not the authority to select and invite guests to the conference, but it was done by local and professional organisations related to the program, and the presidential office did not play a role in this case," the Iranian presidential and public relations department said in a press release on its official website.

The statement added the organisers and guests were in traditional cultural attire, but it does not excuse the lack of adherence to the hijab; which the government intends to investigate.

The Islamic headcover became mandatory for women in Iran after the Islamic revolution in 1979.