France to expel two Iranian diplomats after incident involving French nationals in Tehran

France is expelling two Iranian diplomats in the coming days following what Paris called an attack on two French diplomats in Tehran last month. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said this on Tuesday, UNN reports, citing CNN.

Details

In a post on X, Barrot said that the Iranian people are the main victims of the current period of escalating tensions in the Middle East, referring both to the "bloody suppression" of protests in January 2026 and to the ongoing military bombardments in the war between the United States and Iran.

"It is precisely because France stands alongside the Iranian people, supporting its artists, scientists and researchers, that two French diplomats were subjected to a scandalous and deliberate attack on July 19," Barrot wrote.

"It has happened. Two Iranian diplomats in France are being expelled in the coming days," he said.

Addendum

The dispute arose over an incident last month involving two employees of the French Embassy in Tehran. At the time, Barrot said that the two embassy employees had been detained for several hours by Iranian security services, calling it an "extremely serious act of intimidation" and a violation of their diplomatic immunity.

According to the Islamic Republic of Iran's state news agency (IRNA), Iran's Ministry of Intelligence said last weekend that the two French diplomats had been briefly detained during a national security investigation into alleged foreign interference, before being handed over to France's ambassador. Iran said on Monday that the two officials would not be allowed to return to Iran.

Iranian authorities did not immediately comment on France's decision to expel two Iranian diplomats.