TEHRAN- Nasser Kanaani, spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, has strongly denounced the repeated desecration of the Holy Quran in Denmark and urged the Danish authorities to take prompt action to stop such horrific sacrilegious actions from happening again.

In a statement released on Saturday, Kanaani said that the sacrilegious conduct committed in Denmark by an extremist group during the holy month of Ramadan, in which the Quran was revealed, was an insult to the divine faith of Islam and a severe disrespect to all Muslims worldwide.

According to the Foreign Ministry’s website, the spokesperson emphasized that this aggressive and provocative conduct took place on Friday as free people throughout the world were unanimously calling for the liberation of occupied lands from the control of the murderous and seditious Zionist regime. 

Kanaani continued by saying that this sacrilegious behavior was the meanest approach to disavow an allegation that is referred to in the West as the right to freedom of speech. 

Open disrespect to the sanctities of Muslims is a type of extremism that entails deterrent reaction from the world community, he noted.

Finally, he urged the Danish government to act swiftly to stop such abhorrent actions from happening again.

In Europe, there has been an increase in the number of insults directed towards Islam and its sacred book since last year. 

Over the past several months, such blasphemous acts have taken place on the territory of many European nations, eliciting widespread condemnation from Muslim nations throughout the globe.

Muslim nations all across the world, particularly in West Asia, have released various statements denouncing the Danish government's defilement of the Holy Quran. 

They said that the offensive actions hurt the feelings of Muslims throughout the world during the fasting month of Ramadan.

Iran urges Sudan to exercise restraint

in a statement on Saturday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman also voiced worry over the outbreak of violence in Sudan.

Kanaani expressed hope that the conflicting parties would exercise restraint and engage in talks to end the crisis.

Iran is concerned about what is occurring in the Muslim and brotherly nation of Sudan, Kanaani added.

“We hope that in the final days of Ramadan, our Sudanese brothers will exercise restraint and resort to dialogue to settle their internal differences and leave behind this unpleasant situation through talks and peaceful means,” he noted. 

Sudan's army launched air strikes on a rival paramilitary force's base near the capital Khartoum in a bid to reassert control over the country on Sunday after a power struggle erupted into clashes that killed 56 civilians and dozens of fighters.

The fighting broke out on Saturday between army units loyal to General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti. It was the first such outbreak since both joined forces to oust president Omar Hassan al-Bashir in 2019.

International powers - the United States, China, Russia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Nations, European Union and African Union - have appealed for an immediate end to the hostilities.

Efforts by neighbors and regional bodies to end the violence intensified on Sunday. That included an offer by Egypt and South Sudan to mediate between the fighting parties, according to a statement by the Egyptian presidency.