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Iran condemns Paris shooting, with caveat

Iran has officially condemned the attack on French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo but also warned of "double standards" in dealing with terrorism.

Policemen work at the scene after a shooting at the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo January 7, 2015. Hooded gunmen stormed the Paris offices of the weekly satirical magazine known for lampooning radical Islam, killing at least 12 people, including two police officers in the worst militant attack on French soil in recent decades.   REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal  (FRANCE - Tags: CRIME LAW) - RTR4KFA9
Policemen work at the scene after a shooting at the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo Magazine, Jan. 7, 2015. — REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal

The reaction in Iran to the murder of 12 people by Islamic extremists at the French magazine Charlie Hebdo, which had been attacked previously for publishing cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, has been somewhat mixed. All have condemned the terrorist actions. But there have been nuances and equivocations in the media, reflecting Iran's political considerations and its own history with the treatment of Islam by European artists.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham condemned the attack, saying, “Any terrorist act against innocent civilians is foreign to the teachings of Islam.” However, Afkham also said it was unacceptable “to take advantage of freedom of speech” and to “insult divine religions and the symbols of these religions.”

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