"Prophet Mohammed cartoon republished in French satirical magazine 'unforgivable'" - Iran’s Supreme Leader

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has condemned the republishing of cartoons of the prophet Muhammad in a French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

Charlie Hebdo had republished the same cartoons about the Great Prophet and Islam that prompted a deadly attack on the magazine in 2015.

Khamenei in a statement released on Tuesday September 8, said the “grave and unforgivable sin” committed by the French magazine to insult the divine character of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) once again laid bare the devilish hostility and grudge that Western political and cultural organizations hold against Islam and the Muslim community.

He also decribed the justification of freedom of expression given by certain French politicians for refusing to condemn "such a serious crime as rejected, wrong and demagogic”.

The Iranian Supreme leader said;

“The deeply anti-Islamic policies of Zionists and the arrogant governments are the reason for such hostile moves that take place every now and then,” Ayatollah Khamenei said, adding that the insulting move at the current juncture could be aimed at distracting the attention of West Asian nations and governments from the ominous plots that the US and the Zionist regime have hatched against the region.

“Muslim nations, particularly West Asian countries, must remain vigilant about issues in this delicate region, and never forget the hostilities of the Western politicians and leaders against Islam and Muslims."

Despite the outrage the cartoon has incited in the Muslim world, French President Emmanuel Macron has refused to criticize the satirical magazine's decision to republish the cartoon. According to him, Charlie Hebdo had broken no law in republishing the cartoons to mark the September 2 opening of the trial into a deadly 2015 attack on its offices by Islamist extremists.