Iran bars two French embassy employees from returning to Tehran following diplomatic dispute

Iran barred two French embassy employees from returning to Tehran, citing violations of the Vienna Convention for activities supporting Iranian civil society. The move follows a diplomatic dispute last month, with France summoning Iran's charge d'affaires on July 21 over alleged detention and intimidation of its embassy staff.

Iran said on Monday that two French embassy employees involved in a diplomatic dispute last month would not be allowed to return to Iran. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the two had violated the Vienna Convention by engaging in activities supporting Iranian civil society. "Insisting that these individuals were engaged in activities related to supporting civil society is itself an admission that the Vienna Convention was violated," Baghaei told a weekly press conference, without elaborating. France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, in an interview with France Inter last month, said the mission of the two embassy employees was to "develop programs supporting Iranian civil society, students, and artists... France is one of the countries in the world that does the most for Iranian civil society, and we have paid the price for it." France summoned Iran's charge d'affaires on July 21 after accusing Iranian security forces of detaining and physically intimidating its embassy staff in Tehran. Tehran has long been highly sensitive to what it sees as Western meddling in its internal affairs, especially since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran in late February in a conflict that continues to rage.