Azernews.Az

Akbar Novruz

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Iranian judicial authorities have brought charges against the director, production team, and host of Ofogh TV following the broadcast of a controversial programme that mocked protesters killed during the January protests, Azernews reports.

The programme, titled “Khat-Khati” (“Scribbles”), aired on Sunday on Ofogh TV, a channel widely regarded as being close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. During the broadcast, host Mohammad-Hossein Mohabbati made remarks that were widely perceived as ridiculing the deaths of protesters, triggering a wave of public anger across the country.

With a mocking tone, Mohabbati claimed that the Islamic Republic had kept the bodies of those killed in “cold places” so that, in the event of a future attack by the United States or Israel, the authorities could blame foreign powers for the deaths. He then jokingly asked where the bodies were being kept, offering satirical multiple-choice answers such as a “side-by-side fridge,” an “ice cream machine,” a “supermarket freezer,” and a fourth option: “I’m an ice seller—don’t ruin my business.”

The comments were apparently made in response to remarks by Arjang Amir-Fazli, an Iranian actor living abroad. In a video posted on Instagram last week, Amir-Fazli claimed that the government was keeping a large number of bodies in cold storage so that “if Trump ever fires a missile, they can say Trump killed these people.” His statement had already sparked widespread debate and controversy on Iranian social media.

According to Iran’s official news agency IRNA, citing the Judiciary’s Media Center, the Tehran Prosecutor has formally filed charges against the director of Ofogh TV, the programme’s production team, and the host.

In a separate statement, the Public Relations Office of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) announced that Ofogh TV’s director, Sadegh Yazdani, had been dismissed for “insulting the martyrs and those killed in the January events.” The broadcaster also confirmed that the programme has been taken off air.

The incident has reignited broader criticism of state media in Iran and its handling of sensitive issues related to protests, casualties, and public trust.