“In an arbitrary move, without the knowledge or confirmation of the municipality, one of the cultural institutes installed advertising billboards,” said Hadi Ayyazi, spokesman for the municipality, according to IRNA.

Ayyazi did not specify which posters had been taken down. According to IRNA, new anti-American posters questioning U.S. honesty had been put up in busy Tehran thoroughfares since last week, ahead of the November 4 anniversary of the taking of hostages in the U.S. Embassy in 1979.

One such poster depicted an Iranian negotiator sitting at a table with a U.S. official who is wearing a suit jacket but also army trousers and boots, with a caption that reads, “American Honesty”.

The banners implied that the real U.S. goal in negotiations is to attack Iran rather than find a diplomatic solution to the dispute over its nuclear program.