Iran has denounced a French waste-sorting campaign that features Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, calling it a provocative insult and a violation of international norms respecting cultural values.

The campaign, spearheaded by Béziers Mayor Robert Ménard, features Khamenei alongside North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin, with their images displayed under the slogan "Don’t forget to sort your waste" on the back of municipal buses.

Majid Nili, an aide to Iran’s Foreign Minister, announced Thursday that the Iranian Embassy in Paris has lodged an official complaint against the campaign, which he described as a clear insult to the sanctities and figures of the Islamic Republic and an example of hate speech as well as a blatant violation of internationally accepted principles and norms concerning respect for cultural values.

Nili further said that the embassy had demanded what he called an appropriate response from the French government, and called for measures to prevent similar provocative actions in the future.

The campaign was launched on January 4, 2025, as part of an initiative to encourage residents to participate in waste sorting. Since then, images of the municipal buses have been shared widely on social media platforms, including the city’s official Facebook page, with the caption: "To start the year off right, think about sorting your rubbish."

French media quoted Ménard saying, "These are scoundrels, non-recyclable waste. One wages an unjust war on his neighbors and sends his army to die, another imprisons his population, and the last treats women worse than doormats while eliminating his opponents."

In his New Year’s statement, he also expressed solidarity with the women of Iran, saying: "I am also thinking of those women who, in Iran and elsewhere, refuse to be confined behind a veil, a prison of fabric."