Iran Closes French Research Center in Response to Charlie Hebdo Cartoons

The Iranian Foreign Ministry has issued a statement announcing the closure of the French Research Institute of Iranian Studies in Iran in response to the derogatory actions of the French magazine Charlie Hebdo, according to Iranian media reports.

It is noteworthy that the French ambassador to Tehran, Nicolas Roche, was summoned to the Iranian Foreign Ministry to protest against the offensive publication of numerous cartoons of the country’s highest religious leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, by the Charlie Hebdo satirical weekly.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran does not accept any insults directed towards its sanctities, Islamic, religious, and national values," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani during the meeting with the French ambassador.

He emphasized that France does not have the right to justify insults directed at the sanctities of other countries and Muslim nations under the pretext of freedom of speech, expressing Iran's "strong protest" to the French government.