Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 31: John Abraham’s long-delayed geopolitical thriller, Tehran, is finally set to premiere directly on ZEE5 during Independence Week in August 2025. The streaming giant announced the release date on Thursday, ending years of anticipation and speculation surrounding the film.
In a post on its social media, ZEE5 confirmed the news with a powerful caption: “Dilli mein ek blast ne sirf ek embassy nahi, ek soye hue junoon ko jaga diya. #Tehran Coming this Independence Week, on #ZEE5.” The announcement was accompanied by a new, rugged poster of John Abraham, marking the first visual from the film in three years.
The poster features a bloodied John Abraham against a cityscape of Tehran, with a compelling tagline that reads, “Hunted By Iran, Abandoned By Israel, Deserted By India.” This tagline, along with a 2022 interview where John described the film as being for those “invested in the Russia-Ukraine crisis, wonder what China is doing, what Iran is doing, where does Palestine fit in this whole thing,” hints at a complex geopolitical narrative.
According to reports, the film, inspired by true events and extensively shot across Delhi, Mumbai, and Glasgow, is a fast-paced action thriller with a runtime of less than two hours. To maintain authenticity, it reportedly features dialogues in Farsi and English, in addition to Hindi, making it well-suited for the OTT platform.
The official trailer for Tehran is scheduled to be released on August 1.
Directed by Arun Gopalan, the film also stars Neeru Bajwa, Manushi Chhillar, and Elnaaz Norouzi. The project is a collaboration between Maddock Films and Pacific Worldwide Films, produced by Dinesh Vijan, Shobhna Yadav, and Sandeep Leyzell. Originally slated for a Republic Day 2023 theatrical release, the film was postponed, with rumors suggesting the delay was to avoid a clash with John Abraham’s other major film, Pathaan.
This will be John Abraham’s first direct-to-OTT release as a lead actor. His most recent film, The Diplomat, a spy drama, also premiered on Netflix.
While fans expressed excitement about finally getting to watch Tehran, some also voiced disappointment that the film would not have a theatrical run. Nevertheless, the announcement has reignited significant buzz around the project, positioning it as one of the major OTT releases of the year.