Tehran has summoned the number two of the French embassy in Iran to protest against Paris' "
insistence
" on supporting the cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, the Iranian foreign ministry said in a statement Tuesday (October 27th).
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The first adviser Florent Aydalot was summoned Monday "
to protest against the insistence of the French authorities to support the publication of the cartoons insulting the Prophet
", according to the press release.
The ministry denounced "
the unacceptable behavior of the French authorities which shocked the feelings of millions of Muslims in Europe and in the world
", stressing that "
that any insult and any lack of respect towards the Prophet of Islam and the values of Islam (were) strongly condemned
”.
This statement follows the statements of French President Emmanuel Macron after the assassination on October 16 near Paris of Professor Samuel Paty by a Russian extremist of Chechen origin.
Emmanuel Macron declared that France "
will not abandon the cartoons
", published for the first time by the satirical magazine
Charlie Hebdo
, and that the professor had been "
killed because he embodied the Republic
".
Several Iranian newspapers criticized Emmanuel Macron on the front page on Tuesday.
The ultraconservative daily Kayhan demanded that the French ambassador be "
expelled
" from Iran, saying it would be "
the least thing to do in response to Macron's insolence
".
The daily Javan has a headline "
Le Mal
" on a photo of Emmanuel Macron, smiling.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Monday that Emmanuel Macron's remarks only fueled "
extremism
" and that insulting all Muslims "
for the heinous crimes of these extremists
" was "
opportunistic abuse
"
of freedom of expression
”.
