Iranians denounce French weekly’s caricatures of Prophet Muhammad in protest at French embassy

TEHRAN, Iran – Dozens of Iranian students and clerics have gathered outside the French embassy in Tehran to protest the publication of caricatures of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad by a French satirical weekly.

Protesters chanted “Death to France” and “Down with the U.S.” and burned the flags of both nations Thursday.

It followed a week of protests and riots by Muslims in many countries who were angered by an anti-Islam film produced in the United States. The deaths of at least 30 people, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya, were linked to violence surrounding the video.

The publication of the cartoons in the French weekly Charlie Hebdo raised fears of more protests highlighting tension between Western principles of free speech and Islamic beliefs that do not tolerate insults directed at the Prophet Muhammad.

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