Danish lawmakers cancel trip to Iran over cartoon

Copenhagen: Ten Danish lawmakers have cancelled a trip to Iran amid a diplomatic row over the reprinting of a drawing of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) on Danish newspapers.

The parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee cancelled the trip on Saturday after Iran demanded an apology over the cartoon, which caused Muslim outrage two years ago.

"The Iranian parliament had demanded an apology of the Danish parliamentary delegation, which they of course cannot accommodate," Foreign Minister Per Stig Moller said in a statement.

Police arrested three people on Tuesday over an alleged plot to kill the cartoonist who drew one of the images. Fifteen Danish newspapers reprinted his drawing in protest.

Moller said the committee could not apologise for the fact that Danish media carried out its obligation to inform as it could not apologise for freedom of expression.

"The pivotal point is that Danish authorities have acted to ward off the attempt to murder a Danish citizen. And in that connection the Danish newspapers have reprinted the drawings as information to the public," he said.