Iran calls France's decision to expel two diplomats illegal amid bilateral row

Iran has condemned France's decision to expel two Iranian diplomats, calling the move illegal and saying it will not help relations between the two countries. The dispute comes after Paris said it would remove the diplomats in the coming days in response to Tehran's refusal to allow two French diplomats to return. The exchange marks a fresh escalation in a row that began after the brief detention of the French officials in Iran in July.

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Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said at a weekly press conference that France's action was an illegal response to what he described as Iran's legal decision. He said the French move was "in no way helpful to bilateral relations". Last week, he said the two French diplomats, who were briefly arrested in Iran in July over what Tehran called interference in its internal affairs, would not be permitted to return.

France's foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, said the expulsions were a response to what he called intolerable treatment of the French diplomats. Barrot said the two French diplomats had been briefly detained in Tehran and were targeted by Iranian officials in flagrant violation of diplomatic immunity. He also described the incident as an extremely serious act of intimidation by Iran's security service.

Baqaei, meanwhile, said Paris should apologise for the actions of the French diplomats, which he said had breached the Vienna Convention. The dispute has now moved beyond the original detentions and into a direct diplomatic retaliation between the two capitals. The case matters because it adds pressure to already strained bilateral ties and raises the risk of further reciprocal measures.

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Diplomatic expulsions are a formal but serious step, often used to signal disapproval without severing relations entirely. In this case, both sides are presenting their actions as lawful and the other side's response as a breach of international norms, which makes compromise more difficult in the short term. The row also reflects the sensitivity of diplomatic immunity and the treatment of foreign officials in periods of political tension.

Iran has framed the July detentions as a response to alleged interference, while France has cast the episode as intimidation and a violation of protected diplomatic status. The disagreement over whether the diplomats should be allowed to return has become the central issue driving the current escalation. What remains unclear is whether the expulsions will be carried out exactly as announced and whether either side will seek to de-escalate through direct talks.

It is also not yet clear whether the dispute will lead to additional retaliatory steps or affect other areas of cooperation. For now, the immediate focus is on the coming days, when France says the Iranian diplomats will be expelled and both governments may face pressure to clarify their next move.

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