Iran detained two French diplomats in Tehran on July 19, held them for four hours, and, according to the French foreign minister, struck one of them. More than a week later, the Iranian foreign ministry summoned France’s ambassador to demand an apology.
The incident began when Iranian security officers picked up two French diplomatic staff at a private location in Tehran. The two were held without access to communication for four hours. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said one of them, a cultural counselor, was molested and struck. They were released the next day and left Iran immediately. Both are now in Paris and have refused to return to Tehran.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghai accused France of operating under false pretenses related to human rights promotion and civil society defense. On Sunday, the ministry formally summoned French Ambassador Pierre Cochard to demand an apology.
Barrot called the detention a premeditated and deliberate aggression and said it was designed to intimidate France into withdrawing support for Iranian civil society. In an interview with France Inter radio on July 23, he said the regime was trying by all means to discourage France from continuing to support the Iranian people, but that France would continue.
The detained diplomats were running programs supporting Iranian students, artists seeking study opportunities in France, French-language courses, and consular services.
The Quai d’Orsay responded to Iran’s latest summons with a statement saying it does not comment on Iranian provocations and that the facts are clear.
The incident is the latest deterioration in France-Iran relations, already strained by Iran’s nuclear program, its support for Russia’s war in Ukraine, and Tehran’s hostility toward European governments that criticize its human rights record. France has not expelled the Iranian charge d’affaires in Paris.