The first look from John Abraham’s much-delayed political thriller Tehran was unveiled by the makers on Thursday. Inspired by true events, the film has been directed by Arun Gopalan and written by Ritesh Shah and Ashish Prakash Verma. It will premiere directly on ZEE5 in the Independence Day week.

In the poster, John dons an intense look with a heavily grown beard. There is some blood on his forehead as just a part of his face is visible. The text on the poster read, “Hunted by Iran, abandoned by Iran, deserted by India.” The film’s trailer will be released on August 1.

Sharing the poster, the makers wrote in the caption, “Dilli mein ek blast ne sirf ek embassy nahi, ek soye hue junoon ko jaga diya (A blast in Delhi didn’t just hit an embassy, it awakened a dormant passion)”. Tehran Coming this Independence Week, on ZEE5.”

Tehran also stars Manushi Chhillar, Neeru Bajwa, Madhurima Tuli, and Elnaaz Norouzi in pivotal roles. It was supposed to be released in 2023 but got delayed. Its shoot was completed in 2022.

Speaking about the film earlier in an interview with Filmfare, John said, “If you’re invested in the Russia-Ukraine crisis, wonder what China is doing, what Iran is doing, where does Palestine fit in this whole thing, Tehran is about all of this. It’s a stunning film."

Tehran is produced by Dinesh Vijan, Shobhna Yadav, and Sandeep Leyzell.

Interestingly, John’s last two films dealt with social and political themes too. He starred earlier this year in The Diplomat, where he played the role of real-life Indian diplomat JP Singh, who is on a mission to rescue Uzma Ahmed (Sadia), an Indian citizen from an abusive marriage in Pakistan. Last year, he featured in Nikkhil Advani’s Veda, an action-thriller which dealt with the issue of caste discrimination.