Iran Condemns Abduction In Iraq Of Two French Journalists

TEHRAN, Aug 31 (AFP) - Iran on Tuesday condemned the abduction of two French journalists in Iraq, saying the kidnappings were not in line with human and Islamic values and voicing hope for their immediate release.
"Such methods used to express thoughts and views are not in line with the international norms and they are to be condemned," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said in a statement carried by official media.
"They are not in line with human and Islamic values. We hope that they are released as soon as possible and return home," he added.
A group calling itself the Islamic Army of Iraq holding the journalists, Christian Chesnot and Georges Malbrunot, has demanded France rescind a controversial law banning the wearing of Muslim headscarves and other outwards signs of religious affiliation in French state schools.
The same group also claims to be holding an Iranian diplomat, Fereydun Jahani, who went missing on August 4 on the road from Baghdad to the Shiite pilgrimage city of Karbala where Tehran was set to open a consulate.