Iran warned Paris on Wednesday that it would react after the publication of “insulting” caricatures of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
These are the cartoons selected in a contest launched in December, as protests raged in Iran following the death in custody on September 16 of Mahsa Amini, an Iranian Kurdish woman arrested for allegedly violating the country’s strict dress code for women.
“The insulting and indecent act of a French publication in publishing cartoons against religious and political authority will not go without an effective and firm response,” Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said.
“We will not allow the French government to cross the line. It has definitely taken the wrong path,” he added.
a cartoon contest
Charlie Hebdo announced in December that this “international contest to produce cartoons” of Khamenei was aimed at supporting “Iranians fighting for their freedom.”
Authorities say hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed and thousands more have been arrested in what they generally describe as “riots.” They accuse foreign powers and opposition groups of stirring up trouble.
Charlie Hebdo published the cartoons in a special edition for the anniversary of the deadly attack on his Paris office on January 7, 2015. The latter was carried out by attackers who claimed to be acting on behalf of Al-Qaeda to avenge the newspaper’s decision to publish caricatures of the prophet Muhammad.
The publication of these cartoons caused a lot of anger in Muslim countries, and the 2015 attacks brought a wave of support for the magazine around the world.
Source: BFM TV
