Apple has prohibited Israeli public broadcaster Kan from airing the new season of its hit series Tehran due to the ongoing war in the Middle East, Ynet learned on Tuesday.
The technology behemoth, which bought international rights to the series outside of Israel for its Apple TV+ streaming service in 2020, is officially blocking the broadcast of the series until the conflict concludes.
Kan has been attempting to reverse the decision but so far to no avail and the new season, originally scheduled for release several weeks ago, remains in limbo for the time being.
"The broadcast date for the third season of Tehran has been postponed by mutual agreement following the outbreak of the war," Kan said in a statement. "Our team is constantly in talks with Apple TV+ to pin down a new date for the premiere."
Meanwhile, Apple has also decided to put the kibosh on the production of the show's fourth season, parts of which have already been written.
According to sources familiar with the details of the decision, the reason behind it is the "striking resemblance between the script and actual events." Sources estimate that Apple is waiting to see how real-world events unfold, as they believe that "the outbreak of a regional war would render the storyline of Israeli intelligence agents versus Iran irrelevant."
Kan has indicated that "no decision has yet been made regarding a fourth season."
Tehran, starring Niv Sultan, is one of the Public Broadcasting Corporation's most successful series to date. Due to its success, Apple acquired it for a substantial sum of millions of dollars, which also reflects the investment in the seasons filmed since the acquisition