Tehran says 2 French embassy employees will remain barred from Iran

Iran says that two French embassy employees involved in a diplomatic dispute last month will not be allowed to return to Iran.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei says the two had violated the Vienna Convention — which defines the rules and privileges of diplomatic missions — engaging in activities supporting Iranian civil society.

“Insisting that these individuals were engaged in activities related to supporting civil society is itself an admission that the Vienna Convention was violated,” Baghaei tells a weekly press conference, without elaborating.

Tehran has long been highly sensitive to what it sees as Western meddling in its internal affairs.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, in an interview with France Inter last month, said the mission of the two embassy employees concerned was to “develop programs supporting Iranian civil society, students, and artists… France is one of the countries in the world that does the most for Iranian civil society, and we have paid the price for it.”