Tehran: The Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the French charg© d’affaires in Tehran on Sunday to protest French Foreign Minister Jean-No«l Barrot’s remarks regarding Iranian director Jafar Panahi’s winning of an award at the Cannes Film Festival.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, the Iranian Foreign Ministry stated that the reason for the summons was the “irresponsible statements and false allegations” made by the French minister against the Islamic Republic. Barrot described Panahi’s winning of the award as “a symbol of resistance in the face of the Iranian regime’s repression,” adding that “this victory renews hope in the hearts of freedom fighters around the world.”

During the meeting, Mohammad Tanhaei, head of the Second Western Europe Department at the Iranian Foreign Ministry, accused Paris of “exploiting a film festival to promote anti-Iranian political agendas,” considering the French minister’s remarks as a “blatant interference in Iran’s internal affairs,” and demanding an official clarification from the French Foreign Ministry regarding these positions. Tanhaei added that France exploited its hosting of an international film festival “to promote anti-Iranian political objectives,” denouncing this behavior, which he described as “irresponsible and provocative.”

The Iranian official emphasized that the French government, as one of the most prominent supporters of the “Zionist regime” in its ongoing violations of human rights and the right of self-determination of the Palestinian people, “has no moral authority to level human rights accusations against other countries.”