 After the closing of the Tehran exhibition at the end of May 2016, the Islamic Propaganda Organization sponsored exhibitions of selected cartoons in provincial capitals throughout the country.In an April 2016 interview published in the "New Yorker", Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tried to distance the Iranian government from the contest, asserting that it did not receive government support or endorsement, and that no official permission was necessary to hold it.Following Zarif's statement, a spokesperson from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance questioned the Foreign Minister's comments, stating that the Ministry supports any program that will "enlighten people about the Holocaust".