Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian Interrupted for Reciting Turkish Poetry

 February 16, 2025

During the closing ceremony of Tabriz Cultural Week, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was interrupted and warned by an official while reciting lines from the famous poem Heydar Baba’ya Salam by Mohammad Hossein Behjat Tabrizi (Shahriar).

Before reciting the poem, Pezeshkian noted that he intended to read two lines from Shahriar’s poetry but mentioned that some officials and ministers in the audience did not understand Turkish, so he would continue his speech in Persian. He then began to recite:

Heydərbaba, igid əmək itirməz,
Ömür keçər, əfsus bərə bitirməz,
Namərd olan ömrü başa yetirməz,
Biz də, vallah, unutmarıq sizləri,
Görəmməsək, halal edin bizləri.

Heydərbaba, mərd oğullar doğginən,
Namərdlərin burunların ovginən,
Gədiklərdə qurdları tut, boğginən,
Qoy quzular ayın-şayın otlasın.
Qoyunların quyruqların qatlasın.

As Pezeshkian continued reciting the poem, an official approached him and issued a warning. In response, the president smiled and said, "Reciting two Turkish poems shouldn’t be a problem."

His reaction was met with applause from the audience.

The warning given to Pezeshkian, who is himself a Turk, for reciting a Turkish poem sparked reactions and discussions on social media, particularly among members of the Azerbaijani Turkish community in Iran. Despite making up between 30 to 40 percent of the country’s population, their language holds no official status, is not taught in schools or mainstream media, and faces restrictions and governmental sensitivity regarding its use and recognition.

Süheyla Karger, an exiled activist, reacted to the event on Twitter, criticizing the Iranian government’s policies and Pezeshkian’s response:

You say, "Two lines of Turkish poetry that do not cause any problems"! The question is, how many lines of Turkish poetry, or how much use of the Turkish language, would cause a problem? Don't you realize that it is the Turkish language itself that is considered the "problem"?!

She questioned the extent to which the use of the Turkish language is considered a problem and reminded Pezeshkian of his campaign promises of pluralism. She also pointed out that he had previously stated he would resign if he failed to fulfill his promises.

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