France to expel 2 Iranian diplomats in response to 'deliberate assault' on 2 French diplomats

The French foreign minister said Tuesday that two Iranian diplomats would be expelled in the coming days in response to what he called a "deliberate assault" on two French diplomats in Iran last month.

"Two Iranian diplomats in France will be expelled in the coming days," Jean-Noel Barrot wrote on US social media company X.

The minister said two French diplomats were "scandalously and deliberately assaulted" on July 19, reiterating that he had announced that this "intolerable act" would be followed by consequences.

On July 19, Iran "brutally arrested" two French diplomats, according to Paris, over activities allegedly conducted "under the cover of a diplomatic mission and the embassy." Iran argued that the activities were not justified under the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

The EU, as well as France, condemned Tehran's alleged attack on the French diplomats.

Later, Iran detained the diplomats over a "foreign influence and interference" plot targeting the country's "independence."