Arabic version: فرنسا تستدعي السفير الإيراني بسبب إغلاق مركز في طهران

According to Al Jazeera, France will summon Iran’s ambassador in Paris after Iranian authorities closed a French-language centre linked to the French embassy in Tehran. The French Foreign Ministry said it would also take “appropriate measures” in response to the closure.

French Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pascal Confavreux described the move as a new attack on France’s cultural presence in Iran. In a statement, he said it followed the assault on two staff members of the French embassy last July and called the action “unjustifiable and unacceptable”.

Iran announced the closure on Sunday, accusing the centre of conducting “illegal acts that violated diplomatic conventions”. The Iranian judiciary’s Mizan news website said the French Language Centre, or CLF, had operated for years under the guise of language instruction.

Mizan said the centre had abused its status as a language training facility and sought to identify and build networks among the country’s elite figures while facilitating their departure. France’s Foreign Ministry said the ambassador would be summoned at the request of Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot.

Relations between Tehran and Paris have been strained in recent months. In August, Iran’s Intelligence Ministry said it detained two French diplomats over alleged foreign interference during a national security investigation before handing them over to the French ambassador.