Iran has declared two French diplomats stationed at its embassy in Tehran persona non grata, barring them from returning to Iran. Tehran said the two had engaged in activities it considered contrary to international law, particularly the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
Iran-France Tensions Rise as Tehran Expels Two French Diplomats#Iran #France #FrenchDiplomatshttps://t.co/JfbrlxHwSL
— ARAB TIMES - KUWAIT (@arabtimeskuwait) August 18, 2026
France responded by announcing that it would expel two Iranian diplomats from France in the coming days. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said that the measure was a response to what he described as the “intolerable” treatment of two French diplomats in Iran.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Tuesday that two Iranian diplomats in France would be expelled in the coming days in response to what he described as the deliberate assault of two French diplomats on July 19.
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) August 18, 2026
“It is precisely because France stands alongside the… pic.twitter.com/uWpFosXoQz
The dispute stems from an incident in July, when Iranian security personnel detained and questioned two French embassy staff members in Tehran. France said the treatment of its personnel violated diplomatic immunity and subsequently summoned Iran's chargé d'affaires in Paris to protest.
Iran has given a sharply different account. Its authorities have accused the French diplomats of involvement in activities linked to what Tehran describes as foreign interference in Iran's internal affairs. Iran's Foreign Ministry said the two diplomats had been involved in activities that violated their diplomatic obligations and the Vienna Convention.
Iran's action followed an August 15 warning from its Intelligence Ministry concerning alleged French interference. Iranian authorities said the two diplomats had attended a secret meeting in Tehran connected to a case involving alleged foreign infiltration and interference.
France has rejected the Iranian justification. French officials have maintained that the diplomats were carrying out activities supporting Iranian students, artists, researchers and civil society, and that Tehran's accusations did not justify the treatment of French diplomatic personnel.
The dispute has also touched the broader question of cultural and civil-society engagement between France and Iran. French diplomatic personnel had been involved in programmes designed to support cultural and civil-society exchanges in Iran, while Tehran has increasingly portrayed such activities as potential foreign interference.
The reciprocal diplomatic measures mark a further deterioration in relations between Paris and Tehran at a time of wider tensions surrounding Iran and Western governments.
