TEHRAN (AFP) — Iranian police have arrested five people for a prank video that shows eggplants falling from the sky in front of a Tehran landmark, state news agency IRNA said Monday.
"A video showing eggplants raining down in the capital was published yesterday on social media, and the police immediately identified and arrested those behind it," a Tehran police official told the news agency.
"They claimed they were conducting research in special effects when one of these clips was accidentally posted on social media," Ali Zolghadr said.
The five "emphasized that they belong to no specific group or movement," he said.
IRNA did not specify what offense the arrested men were accused of perpetrating.
One of the viral clips shows a man trying to pose for a photo with Tehran's iconic Milad Tower in the background when suddenly a hail of eggplants starts coming down.
IRNA said that according to online speculation, the video was made by someone "named Amin Taghipour, an Iranian living in Canada proficient in special effects who works in Hollywood."
"He had visited Iran for his father's funeral but his flight back was canceled over the coronavirus outbreak and now he is trying to have fun," the agency said.
Iran has been scrambling to contain the rapid spread of coronavirus, which has infected nearly 14,000 people and killed 729, according to official figures.
Some of Iran's neighbors have closed their borders with the and many international flights to and from the Islamic republic have been canceled.
© Agence France-Presse
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