Iran's Foreign Ministry has summoned the French charge d'affaires over growing anti-Islam comments in France and French officials' support for them, Iran's semi-official Mehr news agency reported Tuesday. 

In their meeting on Monday, a ministry official told French charge d'affaires to Tehran Florent Aydalot that "any insult and disrespect to the Prophet of Islam and the pure values of Islam are strongly condemned and rejected by every person and in every position," according to the news agency. 

"It is deeply regrettable to incite Islamophobia and the spread of hatred in the name of freedom of expression, which should serve communication, empathy and peaceful coexistence between human societies," the Iranian official added. 

Earlier on Tuesday, Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, also condemned the cartoons offending the Prophet and any attempts to link Islam with terrorism but did not echo calls by other Muslim states for action to be taken. 

A foreign ministry official also said in a statement that the Gulf state condemns all acts of terrorism, in an apparent reference to the beheading of a teacher in Paris this month by an Islamist radical avenging the use of cartoons of the Prophet in a class on freedom of expression. 

"Freedom of expression and culture should be a beacon of respect, tolerance and peace that rejects practices and acts which generate hatred, violence and extremism and are contrary to coexistence," said the statement carried by state media. 

"It is recommended to exercise the greatest vigilance, especially while travelling, and in places that are frequented by tourists or expatriate communities," it said.

France's foreign ministry on Tuesday issued safety advice to French citizens in Indonesia, Bangladesh, Iraq and Mauritania, advising them to exercise caution. They should stay away from any protests over the cartoons and avoid any public gatherings.

The French embassy in Turkey issued similar advice to its citizens there.

The images of the Prophet were first published years ago by a French satirical magazine, whose editorial offices were attacked in 2015 by gunmen who killed 12 people.

On October 16, a history teacher was stabbed and killed in a Paris suburb. He had reportedly shown his pupils cartoons of Prophet Muhammad in a class on freedom of expression. 

Macron has recently made remarks perceived to criticize Islam.  When meeting representatives of France's Muslim community on Monday, Macron has pledged to fight "Islamist separatism," saying it was threatening to take over some Muslim communities in France.

(With input from Xinhua, Reuters)

(Cover: A woman takes part in a protest to condemn the French magazine Charlie Hebdo, in Teheran on September 9, 2020. /Reuters)