Iran’s Foreign Ministry announced on Monday that it requested the presence of the French ambassador in Tehran to lodge a formal complaint regarding the recent temporary detention of two French diplomats. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei stated during a press briefing that the government informed the envoy that France must stop what it characterizes as interference in domestic Iranian matters disguised by misleading labels.
Baqaei alleged that the diplomats had attempted to influence internal affairs while using engagement with civil society as a cover. He further argued that their conduct violated the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Conversely, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot previously reported that on July 19, two of his nation’s diplomats experienced severe intimidation by Iranian security personnel. Barrot claimed they were held without cause for multiple hours, questioned, and one diplomat was subject to physical mistreatment before eventually securing their return to the embassy.
