In programs on Iran's Khabar TV, France was accused of a "hybrid war using soft power".

In programs on Iran's Khabar TV, France was accused of a "hybrid war using soft power".

A documentary broadcast on the state news channel of Iranian television accused France of operating a wide network of soft power inside Iran as part of a "hybrid war" aimed at weakening the Islamic Republic.

These accusations were raised in a short documentary broadcast today, coinciding with tensions in relations between France and Iran, which have led to the summoning of ambassadors from both sides in recent days.

This documentary describes France's extensive cultural activities in Iran, including French language education, French-speaking schools, and the alleged recruitment of Iranian students, as actions carried out with "an aggressive and colonial approach and with the inherent purpose of infiltrating the indigenous and national cultures of other countries".

Less than a month ago, Iran ordered the closure of a French language training center affiliated with the country's embassy in Tehran. This documentary accuses this center of not only operating without a license, but "under the guise of language training, it played a role in identifying elites and creating networks to facilitate their departure from the country".

This summer, Iran expelled two French diplomats on charges of foreign interference, and France responded by declaring two employees of the Iranian embassy in Paris as "persona non grata" and expelling them from its territory.