Cartoon by Hadi Heidari

Tehran Prosecutor Charges Cartoonist Over Drawing of President

IranWire: Tehran’s prosecutor’s office has filed criminal charges against newspaper cartoonist Hadi Heidari for publishing a cartoon described as "insulting to the Iranian people."

The cartoon shows Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian riding a donkey labeled "unity," referring to one of his campaign slogans

Prosecutors called the artwork an "insult to the people" and summoned Heidari for questioning. A judicial case has been opened against him.

In a social media statement, Heidari defended the cartoon, saying his intention was to “critique a bill recently submitted by the government to parliament,” not to insult Iranians.

“This metaphor was unfortunately interpreted by some in a way contrary to the image’s intended meaning,” Heidari wrote.

He has since removed the cartoon from his social media pages.

Heidari, 48, is a prominent political cartoonist whose work has appeared in major Iranian newspapers, including Shargh, Etemad, Sarmayeh, and Shahrvand.