“The media [IRIB] apologizes for the slip-up, and it will redouble its efforts to strengthen national unity among Iranian ethnic groups,” Fars news agency quoted the head of IRIB, Mohammad Sarafraz, as saying.
The IRIB head further pledged to investigate the incident and punish those responsible.
A considerable number of Iranians took to social media platforms to slam the Nov. 6 children’s program that insulted Azerbaijani citizens.
The program, Fitileh, contained a satiric show that depicted an Azerbaijani child brushing his teeth with a toilet brush.
Fitileh is a popular program aired every Friday. However, it was temporarily banned following its latest broadcast.
Back in 2006, Iran`s government suspended a state-owned newspaper after it ran a cartoon that led to riots among the country`s Azerbaijani community.
The cartoon in the "Iran" newspaper depicted a cockroach speaking the Azerbaijani language, which is widely spoken in Iran, particularly in the northwestern provinces. Iran`s press supervisory board banned the newspaper, and both the cartoonist and editor were arrested.
On Nov. 9, a member of the Iranian parliament for East Azerbaijan Province, Mohammad Saeed Esmaeili, said the program was an insult to the people of the Azerbaijani provinces and served the cause of the country`s enemies in creating discord among Iranians.
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