Protesters Demand Closure of French Embassy and Impeachment of Zarif

Hundreds of individuals identifying themselves as Basij students gathered on Monday, January 29, in front of the French Embassy in Tehran to protest against what they termed 'the desecration of the Prophet of Islam' and called for the closure of the embassy. This protest was in response to the publication of a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad in the latest issue of the French magazine 'Charlie Hebdo,' which was released on January 24 in a print run of three million copies and featured an image of him with the placard stating 'I am Charlie Hebdo.' The magazine was previously attacked on January 7 by two armed men of Algerian descent, resulting in 12 fatalities. This attack faced international condemnation, including from the Iranian Foreign Ministry. Nevertheless, Tehran condemned the cover of Charlie Hebdo as well. The new cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad incited anger among conservatives in Iran, with some publications, including Kayhan and the weekly 'Ansar Hezbollah,' supporting an attack on the Charlie Hebdo office. A week after the release of this new issue of the French satirical magazine, reports from Iranian news agencies indicated that hundreds gathered in front of the French Embassy on Novfel Lushato Street in Tehran, chanting slogans such as 'Death to France, Death to Israel, Shame on France, There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, Death to France and Zionism.' Reports from ISNA indicated that protesters symbolically changed the name of one of the streets near the French Embassy by writing 'Muhammad the Messenger of Allah' on a sign. The protest featured several speakers, including Ahmad Tavakoli, a conservative representative from Tehran in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, who described Charlie Hebdo as 'a disreputable publication' and claimed that the attack on this 'disreputable newspaper' seemed staged and carried out by Mossad and CIA agents. A person named Seyyed Mohsen Mirhaji, introduced as a representative of the Basij student organization at Tehran University, stated: 'We have gathered here today to tell this identity-less French ambassador, 'Labbaik Ya Muhammad,' if we do not demolish this cursed embassy today, it is by the order of our leader.' A representative from the Islamic Students' Society also expressed that if the decree of Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, regarding the death of Salman Rushdie had been executed, 'no one would have the right to insult Muhammad.' Reports further indicated that the protesters demanded the closure of the French Embassy and the expulsion of its ambassador from Iran. The gathering also called on the Islamic Consultative Assembly to impeach Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian Foreign Minister, due to what they termed the ministry's weak response to the Charlie Hebdo issue. The final statement of this gathering noted: 'While the noble nation of Iran awaited a decisive response from our diplomatic apparatus towards the French government, Mr. Zarif, the Foreign Minister of the eleventh government, in an unconsidered act contrary to the principles of the Islamic Revolution and even contrary to established and accepted diplomatic principles, traveled to Paris and met with the French Foreign Minister just two days after the publication of these disgraceful cartoons.'