France to expel two Iranian diplomats over Tehran ban

France will expel two Iranian diplomats in the coming days in retaliation for Iran barring two French diplomats from returning to Tehran, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Tuesday.

Barrot said on X that the step followed what he called the “intolerable” treatment of the French diplomats, who were briefly detained in Iran last month over accusations of interference.

The Iranian foreign ministry said Monday that it had told France the two French diplomats would not be allowed to return to Iran.

Barrot said on July 20 that the pair, one of them the cultural attache, had been targeted by Iranian officials the previous night, detained and questioned for several hours in what he called a “flagrant violation of diplomatic immunity.” He said they had suffered “an extremely serious act of intimidation” by Iran's security service and that one of them was physically abused.

Iranian authorities denied any mistreatment, saying the diplomats were only briefly questioned and had “interfered in Iran's internal affairs under the pretext of engaging with civil society.” Iran's intelligence ministry said an initial investigation showed the pair were planning a scheme aimed at exerting influence and foreign interference.

Supporters of Iranian graphic designers Aria Kasaei, 46, and Elly Naghilou, 36, said the two artists were arrested on July 19 during a meeting with the French diplomats at Kasaei's home in Tehran to discuss the Villa Zadig cultural project. The supporters said the designers have been held ever since.

The supporters said Kasaei and Naghilou were working on the visual identity for Villa Zadig. They called for the two designers to have access to an independent lawyer and for their safety and fundamental rights to be guaranteed. They also urged France to establish the circumstances of the arrests and take steps to secure their rights, safety and release.

Barrot did not refer to the artists' arrests in his Tuesday post.

Rights groups say Iranian authorities have increased a crackdown on civil society after January protests and the later US-Israeli war against Iran.