MOVIES - June 20, 1990

Iran Can’t Take This Joke: Iran has asked Turkey to halt screenings of “The Naked Gun,” which mocks the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. A Turkish government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Associated Press that Iran made the request through diplomatic channels Saturday, a day after five movie theaters in Istanbul and one in Ankara began showing the film. The official said the government was considering the matter and would see whether it was possible to edit out the brief segment lampooning Khomeini. In one scene, the police detective played by Leslie Nielsen punches a character that looks like Khomeini and reveals a spiked punk hairdo under his turban.