TEHRAN - Ali Akbar Velayati, a top advisor to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, has said that insult by the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo against Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is a continuation of the Islamophobia project.

These plots by the West are aimed at countering promotion of Islamic culture, Velayati said in a statement.

Velayati also urged all Muslims to condemn such sacriligious acts and remain vigilant in the face of anti-Islam plots.

In a reckless, provocative move, the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo on Wednesday republished the same cartoons about Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) that prompted a deadly attack on the magazine in 2015.

The cartoons were republished so as to mark the start of the terrorism trial of people accused as accomplices in the attack. The magazine posted the cartoons online on Tuesday and they appeared in print on Wednesday.

Twelve people, including some of France’s most famous cartoonists, were killed on January 7, 2015, when two French-born brothers of Algerian descent, Said and Cherif Kouachi, went on a gun rampage at Charlie Hebdo’s offices in Paris.

The brothers identified themselves as belonging to the terrorist group al-Qaeda and cited “avenging the prophet” as their reason for the attack. The attack touched off a wave of killings claimed by Daesh (ISIS) terrorist group across Europe.

NA/PA