France to expel two Iranian diplomats amid escalating row over detained officials
France announced it will expel two Iranian diplomats in the coming days after Iran barred two French diplomats from returning to Tehran. The dispute follows the brief arrest of the French officials in Iran last month.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Tuesday that Paris will expel two Iranian diplomats stationed in France within the coming days. The move comes in response to Iran's decision to bar two French diplomats, based at the embassy in Tehran, from returning to the country.
Barrot announced the expulsion on social media platform X, describing it as a consequence of what he called the "intolerable" treatment of the two French diplomats who were briefly detained in Iran last month on accusations of "interference" in the country's internal affairs.
Detention in July
The Iranian foreign ministry said on Monday it had informed France that the two diplomats, one of whom served as cultural attaché, would not be permitted to return to Iran. Barrot had already stated on July 20 that the pair had been detained and questioned for several hours the previous night by Iranian officials, in what he called a flagrant violation of diplomatic immunity. He said the two suffered an extremely serious act of intimidation at the hands of Iran's security service, with one of them subjected to physical abuse.
On Tuesday, Barrot said the attack on the diplomats on July 19 was scandalous and deliberate, occurring precisely because France stands alongside the Iranian people, including its artists, scientists and researchers.
Iranian authorities have denied any mistreatment took place, saying the diplomats were only briefly questioned and had interfered in Iran's internal affairs under the guise of engaging with civil society.
