Paris expels two Iranian diplomats after diplomatic escalation with Tehran

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced Tuesday evening the imminent expulsion of two Iranian diplomats stationed in France, in response to Tehran's decision to declare two agents of the French embassy persona non grata.

The diplomatic crisis between Paris and Tehran has reached a new level. "I am announcing that two Iranian diplomats in France will be expelled in the very near future," declared Jean-Noël Barrot in a message posted on X and in an interview with the daily newspaper La Montagne on Tuesday, August 18. The Iranian ambassador was summoned to the Quai d'Orsay the same day to be notified of this decision.

The incident dates back to July 19. Two French diplomats, including the embassy's cultural attaché, were briefly detained in Tehran before leaving the country. Jean-Noël Barrot denounced "an extremely serious act of intimidation by the Iranian security services," specifying that one of them had been "assaulted" and that the two agents had been "detained without reason for several hours" and "interrogated" because of their mission to support Iranian civil society.

On Monday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry informed Paris that the two diplomats would not be allowed to return to Iran, effectively declaring them persona non grata. Tehran denied any aggression, claiming that the agents had only been "briefly questioned" after participating in a "meeting with several individuals wanted by the authorities." The Iranian Intelligence Ministry went further on Saturday, accusing France of conducting "a broad project aimed at exerting influence" in Iran.

The deputy spokesman for the French Foreign Ministry, Glenn Salic, firmly rejected these accusations. "The Iranian authorities have chosen to level completely false accusations against our agents and to fabricate an interference case to justify their actions," he declared, lamenting that Tehran had not "shed light on this premeditated and deliberate aggression."

The meeting on July 19th took place at the Tehran home of graphic designer Aria Kasaei, 46. According to relatives who contacted AFP, he and his colleague Elly Naghilou, 36, were arrested that day during a work meeting with two representatives from the cultural service of the French embassy. The meeting concerned Villa Zadig, an artist residency and exchange program. The two graphic designers were creating the visual identity for the program. They have been detained ever since.

Jean-Noël Barrot does not name these two graphic designers, but emphasizes that "it is precisely because France stands with the Iranian people, supporting its artists, scientists, and researchers, that two French diplomats were scandalously and deliberately attacked on July 19th." He believes that "the Iranian people are the primary victims of this period of extreme tension in the Middle East, caught between the bloody repression of the January 2026 protests and the bombings."

Franco-Iranian relations have deteriorated for several years. Up to seven French nationals were detained simultaneously by the Islamic Republic in 2023. The last two, Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, were able to leave Iran in early April.