Iran summons French envoy over 'insulting' cartoons

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attends a meeting with a group of Iranian women in Tehran, Iran January 4, 2023. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran summoned France's envoy in Tehran on Wednesday to protest against "insulting" cartoons published by the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo depicting the Islamic Republic's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iranian state media reported.

The French weekly had published dozens of cartoons about Khamenei, which it said were part of a competition it launched last month to support anti-government protests in Iran sparked by the death of a young woman in September while in the custody of morality police.