Charlie Hebdo cartoons clear case of hate speech: Iran FM Spox

Tehran, IRNA – Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani has once again slammed obscene cartoon published by French magazine Charlie Hebdo, saying the move was a clear case of hate speech and a provocation.

Kanaani said in a weekly news conference in Tehran on Monday that Charlie Hebdo cartoons were not only an insult against religious sanctities of the Iranian nation, but they were an affront to the position of women in the society.

“We are sorry that this magazine is published in a country which claim to be respecting the values and supporting the rights of others but it fails to stand by the most obvious principles and bases that govern the international law,” he said.

The official reiterated that the Iranian Foreign Ministry had reacted swiftly to the desecration by summoning the French ambassador in Tehran to convey the Islamic Republic’s message to the French government that the cartoons had insulted Islamic values.

The spokesman said that the Zionist regime of Israel was behind the publication of the cartoons by Charlie Hebdo as the incident coincided with a move by the Zionists to desecrate the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the occupied Palestine.

He condemned the French government for supporting the publication of obscene cartoons under the pretext of freedom of speech while calling on all governments and nations around the world to show a proper reaction to such sacrilegious moves.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Kanaani said that Iran had reacted to the use of a fake name for the Persian Gulf during a recent sport tournament in Iraq, adding that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had lodged a protest with the Iraqi government over the issue while Iran’s Ministry of Sport and Youth and the Iranian football federation had also adopted measures to protest against the move.

On the 25-year partnership deal signed between Iran and China, Kanaani said that the agreement shows that high-ranking officials of the two countries have the political will to develop bilateral ties, adding that the two sides will continue to hold talks to pave the way for the implementation of the partnership deal.

Asked about the way Afghanistan’s embassy is functioning in Iran, he noted that there has been no change in Iran’s policy about the issue, adding that the Afghan diplomatic mission will continue its activities in Iran within the existing frameworks.

As to an imminent trip by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to regional countries, the official said that visits to Turkey and Syria are being planned based on invitations extended by heads of states of the two countries.

Pointing to Qatar-Iran ties, he said that Doha and Tehran have been engaged in interactions at international and bilateral levels, adding that the governor of the Central Bank of Iran and an Iranian deputy foreign minister traveled to Qatar last week to improve mutual banking and financial exchanges between the two countries.

The spokesman also noted that the talks on lifting anti-Iran sanctions and reviving a 2015 deal on the country’s nuclear program are underway, adding that Iran and world powers will pursue negotiations on the issue.

He said that Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are still cooperating, adding, however, that he has no information about a potential visit by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi to Tehran.

On the talks between the US and the Zionist regime on Iran, he said that the consultations are nothing new.

The Iranian official said that Tehran will continue to maintain its own redlines regarding the nuclear case, adding that US should be held accountable as the state which violated Iran’s nuclear deal in 2018.

Kanaani also censured certain European officials for misusing standards and norms of the international law to pursue their own agenda about Iran by backing certain rioters in the country.

Replying to a question about the compensation offered to the families of the victims of a Ukrainian plane that crashed near Tehran three years ago, he said that Iran will continue to observe its international commitments while acting on the basis of its domestic laws.

He said that a court in Iran is investigating the case, adding that Ukraine’s ambassador to Iran has been invited to take part in the trial.

Kanaani reiterated that Iran has clearly stated that it will compensate the victims of the crash.

He further referred to ties between Iran and the Iraqi autonomous region of Kurdistan, saying that Iran has good relations with its Iraqi brothers and that the Islamic Republic is ready to help various Iraqi factions to resolve their differences.

As to reports about attempts by certain states to designate the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist entity, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman underlined that those who have committed terrorist acts are not entitled to use such rhetoric against the heroes of the fight against terrorism.

Referring to Sweden’s Court of Appeal’s decision on Iranian national Hamid Nouri, Kanaani said that Iran will pursue the case while he urged the Swedish government to pay attention to the consular rights of foreign nationals who have been illegally imprisoned in the country.

He also emphasized that the Islamic Republic will continue efforts to have its frozen funds in South Korea released, adding that the issue will not be tied to other cases existing between the two countries.

The spokesman reiterated that Iranian pilgrims will be able to carry out their Hajj rituals in Saudi Arabia in the future as it was the case last year.   

Asked about Turkiye’s efforts to build dams on rivers that flow into Iran, he noted that Tehran will be serious in pursuing its water rights from shared rivers.

On Iran’s water rights of the Hirmand (Helmand) River in Afghanistan, Kanaani said that the Iranian officials will hold talks to urge the ruling Taliban government to observe the Islamic Republic of Iran’s rights in this regard.