Hit Song Criticizing Iran-Iraq War Stokes Controversy in Iran

A scene from pareh sang, youtube (Arabic Website)
A scene from pareh sang, youtube (Arabic Website)
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Hit Song Criticizing Iran-Iraq War Stokes Controversy in Iran

A scene from pareh sang, youtube (Arabic Website)
A scene from pareh sang, youtube (Arabic Website)

Iran’s up-and-coming artist Mehdi Yarrahi is believed to have been banned from performing a few days after releasing his anti-war ‘Pareh Sang’ song.

Yarrahi, an Ahwazi Arab, is known for his highly controversial works and is one of the very few artists who maintained a daringly close take on social developments within the Iranian community.

Etemad daily reported that Yarrahi was barred from publishing any of his works after the culture and media ministry summoned managers from the Iranian music publisher Jame Sabz, which sponsored Pareh Sang’s production.

Criticizing the Iraq-Iran war which spanned over eight years, Yarrahi’s hit song expresses the post-war anguish lived in Arab areas witnessed bloody conflict in southwestern Iran.

For the time being, Jame Sabz Manager Farhad Goi Abadi refused to make any statements involving Yarrahi’s work or being questioned by authorities, however, confirmed he will be meeting soon with culture ministry officials.

The reported dispute, on the other hand, was denied by the Public Relations Department of the Iranian Ministry of Culture and Information which said pop singer Yarrahi was not barred in any way.

“I'm the last martyr of this tribe ... My tribe, which has no bread or water,” Pareh Sang’s powerful lyrics say, echoing Yarrahi’s struggle which he labels a “torn stone.”

“Death has won and once again the mind has died and all our memories are subject to war ... do tell me where we are now and in the name of the war pen. Why have not we had a life yet ?!” the lyrics, sung in Farsi, say.

Hard-line media close to the Revolutionary Guard considered the Pareh Sang’s video clip as an appalling attack on the beliefs and values of the “holy war.”

While ultra-conservatives blasted Yarrahi’s work, other musicians and experts applauded his exceptional knack for balancing traditional and pop culture to deliver a wide-reaching product that resonates with Iranians everywhere.

The singer is also very apt in his social innuendoes and references-- throughout his work, Yarrahi was very shrewd in invoking crises faced by Iran such as sanctions and weather pollution. A majority of his work is dedicated to delivering on the suffering of Arabs living south of Iran, namely Ahwaz.

A year ago, at one of his concerts, he wore a mask to protest the pollution. He participated in recent protests that took place in Ahwaz against the diversion of the Karun River. Citing his unmatched passion for defending the environment, southern locals have dubbed Yarrahi “the son of Karun.”



Sumy City Under Threat as Russian Forces Advance, Ukraine Says 

A fragment of a rocket is seen following a Russian strike on Sumy, Ukraine, on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP) 
A fragment of a rocket is seen following a Russian strike on Sumy, Ukraine, on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP) 
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Sumy City Under Threat as Russian Forces Advance, Ukraine Says 

A fragment of a rocket is seen following a Russian strike on Sumy, Ukraine, on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP) 
A fragment of a rocket is seen following a Russian strike on Sumy, Ukraine, on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP) 

Russian forces have widened the frontline in Ukraine's northern region of Sumy, officials and analysts said, and Moscow said it captured another village on Tuesday, bringing the region's capital closer to within the range of frontline drones.

The advance towards the city of Sumy - the administrative center of the Sumy region - comes as Kyiv showed its ability to continue fighting by conducting a series of strikes in recent days, hitting Russian strategic bombers and the Crimean Bridge.

Russian and Ukrainian delegations met in Türkiye for peace talks on Monday where Moscow said it would only agree to end the war if Kyiv cedes big new chunks of territory and accepts limits on the size of its army.

On Tuesday, Russia's defense ministry said its forces took control of Andriivka, after capturing several other villages in recent days. Kyiv said Russian artillery attack on the city of Sumy killed four people and injured 28.

The head of the military administration of the Sumy region, which lies north of Ukraine's second-largest city of Kharkiv, held a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the region's defense strategy.

"The situation in the border area of Sumy region remains complex, dynamic, but controllable," the head of the military administration, Oleh Hryhorov, said on Facebook.

"The Russian army is constantly shelling border villages, hitting residential buildings, farms, and civilian infrastructure facilities."

The dual advance with fierce frontline fighting and missile and drone strikes in Sumy hinders Ukraine's defense abilities along in the southeast Donbas region, of which Moscow is seeking full control, military analysts say.

On Monday, Ivan Shevtsov, a spokesman for the Ukrainian brigades fighting in Sumy, told Ukrainian national broadcaster that Russian forces had captured about 15 km (9 miles) along the frontline, going 6-7 km deep.

If Russian advances take the town of Yunakivka, Shevtsov said, the city of Sumy will be under a direct threat.

The Ukrainian Deep State blog of analysts who track the front line using open sources said Russian forces are moving to within 20-25 km of Sumy, putting the city within a range of shorter-range attack drones.

Reuters could not independently verify the Russian claim of capturing Andriivka and Ukraine's General Staff made no references to the village in its evening battlefield report. DeepState said early on Wednesday that Andriivka was now in Russian hands.

Over the weekend, Sumy's authorities ordered mandatory evacuation of 11 additional villages due to escalating Russian attacks.

Shevtsov said Russia wants to completely capture the Sumy region, not just make a small incursion.

"Just ... like other regions in eastern Ukraine," he added.