Iran bans newspaper that linked supreme leader to poverty

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s judicial authorities have reportedly banned a newspaper for publishing a front-page graphic that appeared to show Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s hand drawing the poverty line. The semiofficial Mehr news agency said Iran’s media supervisory body shut down the daily newspaper Kelid on Monday, after it published a front-page article titled “Millions of Iranians Living under Poverty Line” on Saturday. The graphic resembled an earlier image of Khamenei writing on paper with his left hand, a prominent ring on one of his fingers. His right has been paralyzed since a 1981 bombing. Advocacy group say local journalists in Iran routinely face government harassment and arrest.