Iranian Azeris interpret a cartoon published in an Iranian magazine as insulting, resulting in massive riots throughout the country.
The Iran newspaper cockroach cartoon controversy occurred in response to a cartoon drawn by the cartoonist Mana Neyestani and published in the Iranian Friday-magazine Iran-e-jomee on 12 May 2006.The cartoon describes nine methods of dealing with cockroaches by depicting a Persian-speaking child and a cockroach. During the first method, when the cockroach does not understand him, the child decides to talk to the cockroach in "cockroach language", but the cockroach does not even understand its "own" language and replies by saying "Namana?" ("What?" in Azerbaijani language) the cartoon has been interpreted by people as an insult to Iranian Azerbaijanis.
Iranian Azerbaijanis (Persian: ایرانیان آذربایجان; Azerbaijani: ایران آذربایجانلیلاری [iˈɾɑːn ɑːzæɾbɑjˈdʒɑnlɯlɑɾɯ]), also known as Iranian Azeris, Iranian Turks, Persian Turks or Persian Azerbaijanis, are Iranians of Azerbaijani ethnicity who may speak the Azerbaijani language as their first language.
Iranian Azerbaijanis are a Turkic-speaking people of Iranian origin. Due to their historical, genetic and cultural ties to the Iranians, Iranian Azerbaijanis are also often associated with the Iranian peoples.Iranian Azerbaijanis are mainly found in and are native to the Iranian Azerbaijan region including provinces of (East Azerbaijan, Ardabil, Zanjan, West Azerbaijan) and in smaller numbers, in other provinces such as Kurdistan, Qazvin, Hamadan, Gilan, Markazi and Kermanshah. Iranian Azerbaijanis also constitute a significant minority in Tehran, Karaj and other regions.