Iranian protesters urge US apology over anti-Islam movie

TEHRAN - Iranian protesters on Friday called for the US apology over the production of an anti-Islam movie that insults Muslim's Prophet Mohammed.

A large number of Iranians staged protest rally on Friday against the film. The protesters in Tehran, chanting anti-US and anti-Israel slogans, swarmed to Enghelab square in central city after the Friday prayers and condemned the production of the film in the United States as an "insult" to Islam.

In a statement issued by the protesters on Friday, they urged the United States to "officially apologize" to the Muslims for the production of the movie and punish its main producers.

The statement also called on the international organizations and human rights circles, including the United Nations and the Non-aligned Movements (NAM) to "seriously" condemn the production of the film and to sue its perpetrators.

Tehran's interim Friday Prayers Leader, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, said that "The movie has been made by the Americans and financially backed by the Zionists and it is considered as the most unprecedented and impudent insult to Islam," said Jannati, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Hundreds of Iranians protested on Thursday against the movie. The protesters gathered in front of the Swiss embassy in Tehran which represents the US interests in Iran.

On Thursday, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic republic Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blamed the United States and Israel on the production of an anti-Islam movie.

"The prime suspects in this crime are Zionism and the US government. If the US politicians are honest in their claim of not being involved (in the production of this film), (they) must bring the perpetrators of this hideous crime and their financial backers, who have wrenched the hearts of Muslim nations, to face a punishment proportionate to this great crime," Khamenei was quoted as saying by Press TV.

On Wednesday, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast called the movie "loathsome" and said that the Islamic republic "strongly" condemns the film which insults the Islamic ideals.

The production of the film has ignited violent protests across the Muslim world.