France denounces 'act of intimidation' against two of its diplomats in Iran

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, at the United Nations headquarters in New York, on April 27, 2026. EDUARDO MUNOZ / REUTERS Two French diplomats in Iran suffered "an extremely serious act of intimidation" by the Iranian security services, with one of them having been physically assaulted, France's foreign minister said on Monday, July 20. Jean-Noël Barrot said, in a statement sent to Agence France-Presse (AFP), that the two diplomats were targeted by the Iranian officials late on Sunday, "in flagrant violation of diplomatic immunity." Both were "detained for several hours without reason, interrogated and one of them was physically assaulted" before they were able to return to the embassy, he said. They were now safe and expected to return to France within hours, Barrot said. An incident that 'cannot go without consequences' "The assault is all the more shocking given these two officials oversee our programmes supporting civil society, particularly Iranian artists and scientists," Barrot said. Barrot, currently on a visit to Iceland, said he had told his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, that the "serious and unacceptable" incident "cannot go without consequences." The comments came after Barrot reiterated last week that European sanctions on Iran would not be lifted unless Tehran abandoned its nuclear programme and what Paris called its destabilising activities in the region. Iran said Monday it was fighting a "full-scale war" with the United States, as Washington expanded its strikes across Iran, with a ninth consecutive night of strikes since a fragile ceasefire, which was concluded in April, collapsed. Read more Subscribers only Trump faces pressure to escalate in Iran after deaths of two US soldiers Le Monde with AFP