A diplomatic source told the "Agence France-Presse" that the French deputy ambassador in Tehran was alarmed by "people who identified themselves as affiliated with the security forces of the Islamic Republic" at the beginning of the month. The French publication Hapoin, which first revealed this news, wrote that the senior diplomat was forcibly arrested in the street and subjected to an "aggressive interrogation" in violation of diplomatic immunity. Following this action, the French Foreign Ministry summoned the ambassador of the Islamic Republic in Paris and reminded in a "sharp tone" that the Tehran authorities are obliged to fully guarantee the safety of French diplomats and diplomatic places.
According to this report, this incident is the second action against French diplomats in Tehran in less than four months and indicates an unprecedented deterioration in bilateral relations. Earlier in July, two French diplomats were arrested and physically assaulted for several hours, which led to the ban on their activities in Iran and on the other hand to the mutual expulsion of two diplomats of the Islamic Republic from Paris.