New cartoon furor

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.