Iran hands protest note to French ambassador over Khamenei caricatures

By Haydar Sahin

TEHRAN (AA) - Iran summoned France’s ambassador Wednesday and handed him an official note of protest from the Foreign Ministry over the publication of “insulting” caricatures in the French magazine Charlie Hebdo of the country’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Nicolas Roche was summoned over the insults, according to according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran brooks by no means any insults to its sanctities and Islamic, religious, and national values,” it said.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan’ani expressed Iran's strong protest against the unacceptable action to the French ambassador, saying that “France has no right to justify insults to other countries’ and Muslim nations’ sanctities under the pretext of freedom of expression.”

Kan’ani, who delivered the protest note to Ambassador Roche, said that Tehran reserves the right to respond appropriately to this behavior.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry also said that it expects the French government to issue a statement criticizing the magazine’s action and to take remedial measures.

Charlie Hebdo released cartoons of Khamenei as part of a competition launched last month to encourage Iranian demonstrations.