Iran: Tehran should look at its own problems before criticizing others, says France FM

In a sign of further strained relations between France and Iran, the French foreign minister said Tehran should be concerned about its own problems rather than criticizing France. This follows the summoning of the French ambassador to Iran over cartoons published by a satirical magazine.

French foreign minister Catherine Colonna said on Thursday that Iran should concern itself with its own problems instead of criticizing France. Colonna’s comments follow Iran’s summoning of the French ambassador in protest over the cartoons published by the satirical Charlie Hebdo magazine. Colonna said Iran was pursuing bad policies through its crackdown on its population and the detention of French nationals.

“Let’s remember that in France press freedom exists contrary to what’s happening in Iran and that this is overseen by a judge within the framework of an independent judiciary, which is something that Iran without doubt doesn’t know well,” Colonna told LCI TV.

The cartoons published in Charlie Hebdo depicted Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in an effort to support the ongoing protests in the country against the Islamic Republic. The cartoons in Charlie Hebdo drew the ire of Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, who warned that the “offensive and indecent” move would be responded to by Tehran. Amirabdollahian also accused the French government of “going too far.”

Charlie Hebdo said it published the cartoons in a special edition that marks the anniversary of a deadly attack in its office in Paris by Islamist militants in 2015 after it published cartoons mocking the Prophet Mohammed.

Last Wednesday, the United States said it was looking at ways to further target Iran’s drone production through export controls and sanctions, according to the White House. Washington is talking to private companies whose parts have been used in Iran’s production of drones.

“We are discussing further steps we can take in terms of export controls to restrict Iran’s access to technologies used in drones,” said White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson in a statement.

The US has previously sanctioned companies and individuals it has accused of manufacturing or transporting Iranian drones that Russia is using to attack civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.