Iran declares two French diplomats persona non grata

Iran has declared two French diplomats stationed in Tehran persona non grata, citing their alleged "illegal activities." This decision marks a significant escalation in the ongoing diplomatic tensions between the two nations.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry accused the French diplomats of participating in a "secret meeting in Tehran in July with suspects in a major case of infiltration and foreign interference." According to the IRNA agency, the ministry stated that these actions constituted a "violation of international law, particularly the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations."

This declaration means the two French diplomats, who are reportedly already outside Iran, will be barred from re-entering the country. The move comes just a day after France announced its intention to expel two Iranian diplomats from Paris. France cited an "aggression against two French representatives in Iran" as the reason for its action, an accusation that Tehran has denied.

France's Foreign Ministry countered Iran's claims, stating that Iranian authorities, "instead of clarifying this premeditated and deliberate aggression and punishing its perpetrators," have chosen to "make completely false accusations against our agents and fabricate a case of interference from scratch to justify their actions."