Hundreds of Iranians protested outdoors the French embassy in Tehran on Sunday protesting after French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo printed cartoons of the Islamic republic’s supreme chief.
The journal on Wednesday printed caricatures of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in assist of the protests in Iran, sparked by the Sept. 16 dying in custody of Mahsa Amini, following her arrest for allegedly violating the nation’s strict gown code.
Iran has warned France over the “insulting and indecent” cartoons, which appeared in a particular version to mark the anniversary of the lethal 2015 assault on the journal’s Paris places of work.
Dozens of demonstrators, most of them non secular seminary college students, gathered in entrance of the embassy within the middle of the capital Tehran and set fireplace to French flags, AFP journalists reported.
“France, be ashamed!” the group chanted.
Waving Iranian flags, they held photos of Khamenei and indicators studying “I will sacrifice my life for the leader,” and “Shame on Charlie Hebdo.”
“I came to support my revolution, my leader”, 17-year-old seminary pupil Karim Heydarpour stated.
Similar pro-government rallies have been held in Iran’s holy metropolis of Qom, 128 kilometers (80 miles) south of Tehran, the state broadcaster reported.
Iranian authorities model the months-long protests within the nation as “riots” and accuse international international locations and opposition teams of stoking the unrest.
On Sunday night, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi condemned the publication of the cartoons, state news company IRNA reported.
“Resorting to insult and offense under the pretext of freedom is a clear evidence of the absurdity of the logic of those who insult, and their disappointment at the non-fruition of the conspiracy of chaos and insecurity in the country,” Raisi stated.
Earlier within the day, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani stated freedom of speech shouldn’t be used as a pretext for “insulting” faith.
France “has no right to justify insulting the sanctities of other countries and nations and followers of divine religions under the pretext of freedom of speech,” he stated on Twitter.
Paris ought to observe the “fundamental principles of international relations – namely mutual respect (and) non-interference in the internal affairs of others,” he stated.
On Thursday, Iran stated it was closing the Tehran-based French Institute for Research in Iran “as a first step” in response to the cartoons, after summoning the Paris ambassador to protest the publication.
Located within the middle of Tehran, IFRI had been closed for a few years however was reopened beneath the 2013-2021 presidency of the reasonable president Hassan Rouhani as an indication of warming bilateral relations.
