Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday summoned the French ambassador, Nicholas Roche, in protest against the caricatures of the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, published in the French satirical magazine ‘Charlie Hebdo’.
«Iran does not accept any insult to its Islamic, religious and national values and entities. France has no right to try to justify insulting the sanctities of Muslim countries and other nations under the pretext of freedom of expression,» the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
In this regard, it has claimed that Iran «is waiting for the French government’s explanation and compensatory action in condemning the magazine’s unacceptable behavior» and has summoned the French diplomat this Wednesday night, Mehr news agency reported.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hosein Amirabdolahian said earlier that these actions will not go «without an effective and decisive response.» «We will not allow the French government to step out of line. They have definitely taken the wrong path,» he said.
The satirical magazine announced on December 9 an «international competition to produce caricatures of the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran,» whom it described as «a symbol of retrograde thinking, narrow-mindedness and intolerance of religious power.»
‘Charlie Hebdo’ announced just this Wednesday a selection of winning cartoons and highlighted on its account on the social network Twitter that during the last weeks it has received «more than 300 drawings and thousands of threats».
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
