Comedian Omid Djalili has publicly defended the bombing campaign against Iran whilst also having performed at a Saudi state festival, a regime responsible for the war in Yemen and the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

He has also attacked critics of the war and promoted a shocking claim that Iran’s own government staged the bombing of a school that reportedly killed around 160 children.

Many people view this as blatant hypocrisy: defending devastating military attacks on civilians as an acceptable price in Iran, yet accepting lucrative invitations to comedy wash the Saudi regime.

UK cultural venues should reconsider giving him a platform.

War on Iran

Djalili has publicly defended the US–Israeli bombing campaign against Iran, a war widely criticised by legal experts as unlawful.

The campaign has killed and injured several thousand civilians and struck schools, hospitals, energy infrastructure and cultural sites.

Strikes on oil depots and industrial facilities have also created environmental dangers for civilians. One strike reportedly caused toxic chemical pollution to fall over parts of Tehran.

When Green Party leader Zak Polanski raised concerns about the US school bombing, Djalili publicly attacked him and accused him of spreading misinformation. He went further, promoting the extraordinary claim that Iran’s own Revolutionary Guard staged the massacre using children’s bodies from earlier killings.

For many Iranians, this rhetoric is deeply insulting to the victims and their families.

Saudi Festival

Djalili also chose to perform at the Riyadh Comedy Festival, a state-backed event widely seen as part of Saudi Arabia’s attempt to improve its international image.

Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen has created one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters. Critics of the Saudi regime can face imprisonment, torture or execution.

Reports suggested performers at the festival were offered hundreds of thousands, and in some cases over a million dollars, to appear.

Against that backdrop, Djalili’s attempt to frame his appearance as cultural exchange rings hollow to many observers.

Our Request

Public cultural venues should not provide a platform to figures who defend devastating wars while helping authoritarian regimes polish their image.

We urge venues hosting Omid Djalili’s tour to cancel these performances.

If cultural venues truly stand for human dignity and truth, they should cancel these performances.