France to summon Iran envoy after language centre closure in Tehran

Iran accuses the French connection centre of conducting ‘illegal acts that violated diplomatic conventions’.

France volition summon Iran’s ambassador and instrumentality “appropriate measures” aft Iranian authorities closed a French-language centre linked to its embassy successful Tehran, according to the French Foreign Ministry.

“This caller onslaught against France’s taste beingness successful Iran, pursuing the battle connected 2 unit members of the French embassy past July, is unjustifiable and unacceptable,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pascal Confavreux said successful a connection connected Sunday.

Recommended Stories

• list 1 of 4Lebanon information talks successful Paris to absorption connected post-UNIFIL alternatives
• list 2 of 4Macron and Aoun sermon efforts to backmost Lebanon’s army, extremity Israeli attacks
• list 3 of 4Russia seizes assets of French firms, summons UK envoy implicit Ukraine support
• list 4 of 4France’s Macron and Canada’s Carney denote plans to physique stronger ties

Iran announced connected Sunday the closure of the centre it accused of conducting “illegal acts that violated diplomatic conventions”.

“Based connected the Tehran prosecutor’s office, the amerciable centre affiliated with the French embassy successful Tehran, which has operated for years nether the guise of connection instruction, was closed,” the Iranian judiciary’s Mizan quality website said, referring to the French Language Centre (CLF).

It said the centre “abused its presumption arsenic a connection grooming facility” and sought to “identify and physique networks among the country’s elite figures portion facilitating their departure”.

The French Foreign Ministry said it would “take due measures to respond” and would summon Iran’s ambassador successful Paris astatine the petition of French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot.

Relations betwixt Tehran and Paris person been strained successful caller months.

In August, Iran’s Intelligence Ministry said it detained 2 French diplomats implicit alleged overseas interference during a nationalist information probe earlier handing them implicit to the French ambassador.