Iran condemns French city's 'insulting' poster of supreme leader

Iran strongly condemned on Thursday an "insulting" poster on a bus in a French city depicting supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, state media reported, with relations strained between the two countries.

The city of Beziers in southern France had run a campaign on buses calling for selective sorting of waste using portraits of Iran's Khamenei, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

"Don't forget to sort the trash," said the slogan on the bus poster, according to the official Facebook page of the French city, and images circulating online.

The director general for Western Europe at Iran's foreign ministry, Majid Nili, "strongly condemned" the action of the French city which was "insulting to the sacred values and personalities of our country," according to the official IRNA news agency.

"The use of offensive content against officials of the Islamic republic of Iran is a flagrant violation of internationally accepted principles and rules based on respect for cultural values of other nations," said Nili.

He further called on the French government "to take the appropriate measures to prevent the repetition of such provocative actions."

France on Tuesday urged its citizens to avoid travelling to Iran until French nationals held there have been released. French authorities say three of their citizens are held in Iran and calls them "hostages".

On Monday, French president Emmanuel Macron said Iran was "the main strategic and security challenge for France, the Europeans, the entire region and beyond."

He added that Iran would be a key topic of discussion with US President-elect Donald Trump's administration, which will take office on January 20.

Iran called the remarks "baseless" and urged France "to reconsider its non-constructive approaches to peace and stability".