Tabriz, Iran
Iran’s official state newspaper, Iran, was shut down this week after it published a cartoon that offended the Azeri minority. The editor and cartoonist were arrested. The cartoon, which ran in the newspaper’s children’s section, depicted a cockroach speaking the Azeri language. Riots broke out in the town of Tabriz, where police arrested more than 50 people. In nearby Orumiyeh, a mob of angry Azeris torched one of Iran’s news bureaus. Ethnic Azeris make up 25 percent of Iran’s population, most of them living in the northwest near the border with Azerbaijan. They often complain of discrimination by Iran’s majority Persians.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Is Donald Trump behind potential Gaza ceasefire and will it work?Today's Big Question Israel and Hamas are 'on the brink' of a peace deal and a hostage exchange, for which the incoming president may take credit
-
Chemnitz: an 'unlikely renaissance' for the 'forgotten' townThe Week Recommends The birthplace of Germany's industrial revolution is hoping to reinvent itself
-
Maha Kumbh Mela: world's largest religious festival gets under way in IndiaIn The Spotlight Politics of Hindu nationalism has cast a shadow over event touted as biggest ever gathering of humanity
