Iran Removes Anti-U.S. Posters in Tehran

Iran, it seems, wants to ensure that nothing spoils the mood of its upcoming talks with Western powers; and the slight easing of tension in its relations with the U.S. In an obvious effort to curb anti-American sentiments, Iranian officials pulled down a bunch of new anti-American billboards that had come in the country's capital city Tehran. The reason it said was that the poster were pulled down because they were put up without the permission of the city's municipal authorities.

One of the posters in question, according to The Atlanticwire shows an American official, wearing symbols of all that is considered evil about American culture, from the waist down, like military fatigues or an attack dog. The American official is seen sitting opposite an unnamed Iranian official who bear resemblance to Iran's moderate foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif:

US- style honesty. You can see this poster across Tehran streets: pic.twitter.com/BBuXyqk38p
— Mahdi Fattahi (@mFat) October 23, 2013

The latest set of controversial posters were been put up by the Owj Cultural Organisation, which said it had the required permissions. The posters were put up to commemorate the violent takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran on November 4, 1979 by a revolutionary group called Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line.

The Embassy takeover, led to 52 American diplomats being held hostage for 444 days and is considered to be one of the worst hostage crisis ever. The incident marked the Islamic revolution of Iran and spoiled the country's relations with U.S. and its allies.

Government efforts to pull down to posters, is seen as a way to contain Iran's conservative hardliners who are not too happy with the new moderate stand adopted by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in his talks with the West regarding the country's nuclear program. Since his return from the UN General Assembly Session in New York, and his historic telephone conversation with U.S. President Obama, in September, President Rouhani has received a mixed response from the Iranian public.

Some hail his effort to reconcile relations with the West whereas others blame him for giving in too much. The Atlantic Wire reported that some of the campaign posters were replaced with more moderate message like the one reading below "in a world that is filled with oppression, we don't oppress, nor do we allow oppression:"