(AP) - The Iranian government closed one of its own newspapers Tuesday for publishing a cartoon that provoked riots among the Azeri minority.
State television reported that the national media supervisory body had closed the state-owned Iran "due to its publication of divisive and provocative materials."
The closure was indefinite, the television reported.
On Friday, the newspaper published a cartoon showing a cockroach speaking Azeri, the language of an ethnic group in northwestern Iran, reports Trend.
The cartoon touched off riots in that part of the country on Monday, and the unrest ended only after police used tear-gas on the crowd.
Culture Minister Saffar Harrandi appeared on state television and apologized for the cartoon.
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