Iran summons French envoy over minister's remark on Panahi's Palme d'Or victory at Cannes

Panahi on Saturday won the prestigious Palme d'Or for his film 'It Was Just an Accident'.

After he won the award, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot triggered a row after he wrote on X: "In a gesture of resistance against the Iranian regime's oppression, Jafar Panahi wins a Palme d'Or that rekindles hope for all freedom fighters everywhere."

French envoy summoned

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Ministry's Director General for Western Europe Mohammad Tanhaei summoned the French envoy to protest against the minister's remark.

"Tanhaei condemned his comments as a blatant interference in Iran’s internal affairs and labeled them as irresponsible and provocative," a Foreign Ministry statement said as quoted by the Iran International news portal.

He demanded the French Foreign Minister to issue an official explanation on the matter.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reacts

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi attacked the French Minister over his remark and said the country's officials should "spare Iranians the lectures" on human rights.

"There have been many transgressions making a mockery of France's "human rights activism". But perhaps nothing has made the hypocrisy as stark as the French approach to the Israeli regime and its war crimes," Araghchi wrote on X.

"Spare us Iranians the lectures. You have no moral authority whatsoever," he said.

Jafar Panahi and challenges in filmmaking

Fighting all challenges, Jafar Panahi, who was barred from filmmaking for 15 years by the government in Tehran, clinched the acclaimed  Palme d'Or prize for his revenge thriller "It Was Just An Accident".

In his career, the 64-year-old director has also won Berlin's Golden Bear for "Taxi" in 2015 and the Golden Lion at Venice for "The Circle" in 2000.

According to reports, he has often been in and out of prison in recent years for criticising the Iranian government.

'It Was Just an Accident' was his first directed movie since he was released from prison in 2023.

Besides his jail term, the filmmaker also faced a 20-year ban on making movies and travelling outside his own country.

He reportedly shot "It Was Just An Accident" secretly in Iran.

"As soon as I finish my work here I will go back to Iran," he told reporters in Cannes as quoted by BBC.

"And I will ask myself what's my next film going to be," the filmmaker said.