Iran arrests five over prank eggplant-rain video

Iranian police have arrested five people over 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," IRNA quoted a Tehran police official as saying. "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 had "emphasised that they belong to no specific group or movement", he added. IRNA did not specify what offence 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 cancelled over the coronavirus outbreak and now he is trying to have fun," the agency added.

Iran has been scrambling to contain the rapid spread of coronavirus in the country which so far has infected nearly 14,000 people and killed more than 720, according to official figures. Some of Iran's neighbours have closed their borders with the country in the wake of the outbreak and many international flights to and from the Islamic republic have been cancelled.