Iran shuts French language centre, France protests

Iranian authorities announced on Sunday that they had closed a French language centre linked to the French embassy in Tehran, accusing it of illegal activities, and France said it would summon Iran's ambassador.

The judiciary's Mizan news website said the French Language Centre had operated for years “under the guise of language instruction” and had been closed on the basis of the Tehran prosecutor's office.

Iran's judiciary accused the centre of carrying out “illegal acts that violated diplomatic conventions”. It alleged that the centre had abused its status as a language training facility to identify and build networks among Iranian elites while facilitating their departure.

France's foreign ministry called the closure “unjustifiable and unacceptable” and said Paris would “take appropriate measures to respond”. It said Iran's ambassador would be summoned at the request of French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot.

Relations between Tehran and Paris have been strained in recent months. France last month announced the expulsion of two Iranian diplomats after Iran briefly arrested and banned two French envoys from the Islamic republic. Tehran had accused the two French diplomats of interference in Iran's internal affairs.