Iran summons French envoy after FM's Cannes comments
TEHRAN - France's envoy in Tehran was summoned May 25 over 'insulting' comments by France's foreign minister after an Iranian film won the top prize at the Cannes film festival, state media reported.
In a post on X after dissident filmmaker Jafar Panahi won the Palme d'Or on May 24, Mr Jean-Noel Barrot called his victory 'a gesture of resistance against the Iranian regime's oppression'.
Mr Panahi, 64, was awarded the Palme d'Or for the political drama It Was Just an Accident – a film in which five Iranians confront a man they believe tortured them in prison.
Several actresses also appear in the film without veils, in violation of Iran's strict dress code for women.
'Following the insulting remarks and unfounded allegations by the French minister... the charge d'affaires of that country in Tehran has been summoned to the ministry,' state news agency Irna reported on May 25.
It said Iran condemns 'the misuse by the French government' of the Cannes festival 'to advance its political agenda against the Islamic Republic'.
A story inspired by his own time in detention, Mr Panahi's film led critics' polls throughout the week at Cannes.
Mr Panahi's victory had been ignored by the state broadcaster, which instead focused on a state-aligned 'Resistance' film festival.
This event awards pro-Palestinian works or those about the eight-year Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.
The conservative Fars news agency had suggested the Cannes jury's choice was politically motivated, saying it was 'not uninfluenced by the political issues surrounding Jafar Panahi inside Iran'.
Reformist newspapers Etemad, Shargh and Ham Mihan reported the win on their websites but did not feature it on their front pages, possibly due to the timing of the announcement.
Mr Panahi, who has been banned from filmmaking in Iran since 2010 and jailed multiple times, addressed the Cannes audience with a call for national unity.
He confirmed plans to go home to Iran immediately. Asked late May 24 if he feared arrest, he said: 'Not at all. Tomorrow we are leaving.'
On May 25, he posted an Instagram picture of himself with his film crew, saying: 'Travellers return home.'
It was only the second time an Iranian director has won the Palme d'Or, after the late Abbas Kiarostami received the honour for Taste of Cherry in 1997.
Both directors faced bans throughout their careers. AFP
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Trump to discuss Gaza, Iran with Netanyahu at July 7 meeting
US President Donald Trump (right) will welcome Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) to the White House on July 7. PHOTO: REUTER WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump said on July 1 he will discuss the situations in Gaza and Iran when he meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House next week, adding that he hopes to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza soon. Mr Trump plans to meet Mr Netanyahu on July 7. A senior Israeli official, Mr Ron Dermer, has been in Washington this week holding talks ahead of the meeting. Mr Trump and Mr Netanyahu worked together on a military operation against Iran's nuclear sites in June that culminated with American B-2 bombing raids. Mr Trump said the strikes 'obliterated' Tehran's nuclear capability, although there remains a debate about the degree of damage done to the Iranian nuclear programme. Mr Trump said he is hopeful that a ceasefire-for-hostages agreement can be achieved next week between Israel and Iran-backed Hamas militants in Gaza. 'We hope it's going to happen. And we're looking forward to it happening sometime next week,' he told reporters as he departed the White House for a day trip to Florida. 'We want to get the hostages out.' Hamas has said it is willing to free remaining hostages in Gaza under any deal to end the war, while Israel says it can only end if Hamas is disarmed and dismantled. Hamas refuses to lay down its arms. The war in Gaza was triggered when Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on Oct 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Gaza's health ministry says Israel's post-Oct 7 military assault has killed over 56,000 Palestinians. The assault has also caused a hunger crisis, internally displaced Gaza's entire population and prompted accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice and of war crimes at the International Criminal Court. Israel denies the accusations. A White House official, asked about Mr Dermer's scheduled meetings and agenda, said: 'Ron Dermer visits the White House regularly.' 'This will continue as President Trump pursues a path to peace for Israel and Gaza,' the official added. The official did not immediately identify the Trump aides Mr Dermer would see during his visit. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
Iran shuts out nuclear monitors in tactics that recall Cold War
Policymakers on both sides of the conflict are reacquainting themselves with so-called strategic ambiguity. PHOTO: NYTIMES Iran is keeping its nuclear ambitions more closely guarded than ever after attacks by Israel and the US in June , introducing additional ambiguity to the Islamic Republic's diplomatic showdown with Washington. After formally cutting off International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections last week, Iranian nuclear-safety regulators have stopped taking calls from the United Nations watchdog, according to two officials who asked not to be identified discussing sensitive information. The IAEA's Incident and Emergency Centre was activated June 13 and had been in continuous contact with counterparts in Iran, but that information sharing has tailed off, they said. The communication blackout underscores the degree to which Iran is using silence as a way to obscure international understanding over the status of its nuclear program. Tehran had previously allowed an average of more than one IAEA inspection a day and took part in five rounds of talks with the US about a deal to curb its atomic activities, but the Israeli assault has changed the equation. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said Iran's nuclear facilities have been 'obliterated' by 12 days of airstrikes, which – if true – would render the conversation moot. Yet the view of the IAEA is that, while sites at Natanz and Fordow have suffered some damage, uranium-enrichment activity could resume in a 'matter of months', director-general Rafael Mariano Grossi told CBS News over the weekend. The whereabouts of Iran's 409kg inventory of near-bomb-grade uranium is also unknown. Given the fuel can be stored in 16 cylinders each the size of a large scuba-diving tank, there is at least a possibility it has been transported to an undeclared location. With no near-term resumption of IAEA monitoring in prospect, policymakers on both sides of the conflict are reacquainting themselves with so-called strategic ambiguity – a key element to nuclear brinkmanship during the Cold War. By introducing a level of uncertainty about their intentions, goes the theory developed by Nobel Laureate Thomas Schelling among others, adversaries may be able to prevent a slide into total war. 'It remains to be seen if Iran dashes for a bomb or not, but what is clear is that the US strikes will drive the programme further underground,' said Dr Dina Esfandiary, who covers the Middle East for Bloomberg Economics. 'Iran is learning that strategic ambiguity will be its best option.' Next phase The situation raises questions about the next phase of the US and Israeli mission to curb Iran's ability to build a nuclear weapon, an aim the Islamic Republic has repeatedly denied. Mr Trump offered an olive branch to Iran on J une 29 , suggesting in an interview with Fox News he could offer the country relief from stringent economic sanctions in return for assurances of peace. That jarred – at least in tone – with comments posted by Mr Trump on Truth Social two days earlier, where he responded furiously to claims of victory by Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and said he had 'dropped all work on sanction relief' as a result. Iran's government, meanwhile, said it remains skeptical its US-brokered ceasefire with Israel will last, adding it would respond to any new attacks. Regarding the prospect of fresh talks with the US, a government spokeswoman said on July 1 that 'no decision has been made'. To help deter against a renewed assault, Iran could use uncertainty over the whereabouts of its highly enriched uranium to try to dictate events. For the US and Israel to gain knowledge of the state and location of the stockpile, physical inspections and verification will need to be carried out, most likely via negotiated access for the IAEA. The other option for Israel and the US would be a return to military action – a far from straightforward equation. For Israel, the cost of the 12-day war may have been as high as US$12 billion (S$15 billion) , Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said last week, while domestic damages of about US$3 billion would be the most for any conflict in Israel's history. In the US, direct military involvement has split key elements of the Republican Party and could carry political costs for the Trump administration. For now, Iran is reinforcing the ambiguity. The country's Guardian Council last week approved a law suspending cooperation with the IAEA, but this is viewed as primarily a symbolic act. It is unclear how much work IAEA monitors could do even if they had access, given the risk of chemical and radiological contamination at bombed nuclear installations. For Iran to permanently bar IAEA inspectors, it would need to exit the international Non-Proliferation Treaty – which aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons – a move that would potentially end monitoring altogether. While such a move could yield even more diplomatic leverage for Iran, it would also carry new risks, according to Ms Darya Dolzikova, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, a London-based think tank. 'Ambiguity is not cost free,' she said. 'In the absence of verification, Iran will have lost the ability to send credible signals about its nuclear programme. It can still formulate a narrative, but one with lower credibility.' BLOOMBERG Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
4 hours ago
- Straits Times
Algerian court upholds five-year jail term for French-Algerian writer
TUNIS - An Algerian court upheld on Tuesday a five-year prison sentence being served by French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal for undermining national unity, Ennahar TV said, prompting a call for clemency by France. Sansal, 80, had been living in France but was detained while visiting Algeria in November and sentenced in March after making statements to a French media outlet in which he endorsed Morocco's position that part of its territory was seized under French colonialism and annexed to Algeria. Sansal denied the charges. He said his statements were made within the framework of freedom of expression and that he had no intention of offending Algeria. "France regrets the appeal court's decision to impose a prison sentence on our compatriot Boualem Sansal, which maintains the sentence handed down by the lower court", the French Foreign Ministry said. It said France urged the Algerian authorities to show clemency and find a swift, humanitarian and dignified solution to the situation of our compatriot, taking into account his state of health and humanitarian considerations. French President Emmanuel Macron had called for Sandal's release after he was sentenced in March. Ties between Paris and Algiers have deteriorated since France recognised Morocco's sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara. Algiers' refusal to take back those deported by French authorities and Sansal's detention have exacerbated tensions, with each side expelling some of the other's diplomats. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
