Iran summoned the French ambassador to protest remarks by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, who described Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi’s Cannes Palme d’Or win as a "gesture of resistance" against the Iranian regime. Panahi, who has faced imprisonment for his criticism of the government, won the award for his film It Was Just an Accident, which addresses the brutality of the Iranian government. Iran’s foreign ministry condemned Barrot’s comments as "insulting" and demanded a formal explanation, citing France’s lack of moral authority on human rights issues.
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