Lebanese Hezbollah condemns Charlie Hebdo cartoons in France

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group has condemned the cartoons published recently by the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo that mocked Iran’s ruling clerics. It also urged France to punish the publication. The Iran-backed Hezbollah said the offensive caricatures were an “ugly act by the magazine” that targeted Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, revered as the spiritual leader for tens of millions of pious Shiites throughout the world, including in Lebanon. Hezbollah said in a statement on Tuesday that the “French government … should not be a partner in this offense.” There was no immediate comment from France. Members of Hezbollah, a Shiite group, also consider Khamenei as their religious leader.