Updated

An Iranian cleric says the state-sanctioned broadcaster owes an apology to the country's Arab minority for insulting them in a recent program.

The Semi-official Tasnim news agency on Friday quoted Ayatollah Mohsen Heidari, prayer leader of the Khuzestan provincial capital Ahwaz, as saying state TV Channel 2 should apologize.

Heidari was apparently referring to a children's program in March that showed figurines of various minorities in Iran's provinces while ignoring Arabs. The majority of Iran's population is Persian but nearly half the 4 million population of Khuzestan are Arab.

Since then, foreign-based media have reported protests in Khuzestan over the incident.

Though Iranian media have remained silent, Iran's police chief Gen. Hossein Ashtari said last week there were no casualties in Khuzestan.