Hawzah News Agency - The Iranian foreign ministry strongly deplored the “stubborn” continuation of blasphemous acts and remarks against the Great Prophet of Islam (PBUH) in France.

“Undoubtedly, the unacceptable and violent actions of a few extremists, which are originated from an extremist and deviant ideology in the Islamic world, and, ironically, is also owned by political partners close to the West and the US, no way can be a justification to insult and disrespect a heavenly figure respected by 1.8bln Muslims in the world,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Saturday.

“No doubt the unjustifiable position of the French officials is not an appropriate and prudent response to the extremism and violence that is condemned in its place, and it causes hatred more than ever as we are witnessing some suspicious and disgusting acts of insult to the holy Quran by a few extremist and anti-Islam streams in a number of European states which are strongly condemned,” he added.

Khatibzaden underscored Iran’s support for the Islamic countries’ position to deplore such acts, describing sacrilege of Islamic values and beliefs of Muslims as unacceptable and denounced.

The General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Friday condemned continued attacks and incitement against Muslim sentiments and insults of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

A statement by the OIC criticized the "discourse from certain French politicians, which it deems to be harmful to the Muslim-French relations, hate-mongering and only serving partisan political interests".

It said it "will always condemn practices of blasphemy and of insulting Prophets of Islam, Christianity and Judaism" as it condemned any crime committed in the name of religion.

It also denounced the killing of French teacher Samuel Paty, who was decapitated last Friday in a Paris suburb.

The statement rejected the incitement against Islam, its symbols and linking Islam and Muslims with terrorism.

In recent weeks, French President Emmanuel Macron attacked Islam and the Muslim community, accusing Muslims of "separatism", and he said previously that "Islam is a religion in crisis all over the world".

The incident in Paris coincided with a provocative move by Charlie Hebdo, a left-wing French magazine infamous for publishing anti-Islamic content, which has drawn widespread anger and outrage across the Muslim world.

The caricatures were first published in 2006 by a Danish newspaper Jylllands Posten, sparking a wave of protests.