DUBAI/PARIS, July 22 (Reuters) – An Iranian foreign ministry official denied on Wednesday that two French diplomats were mistreated by Iranian security personnel who detained them for several hours in Tehran.
Paris swiftly dismissed the Iranian official’s comments, which were reported by state media, and has warned that there will be consequences over the incident.
The French foreign ministry summoned the Iranian charge d’affaires on Tuesday over the incident, in which it said two French embassy staff had been detained and physically intimidated by Iranian security services.
Paris said the diplomats had their phones taken, were forbidden to contact the embassy and were verbally intimidated in a breach of diplomatic conventions. It said that one of them, the cultural attache, had been subjected to physical violence.
State media quoted Iranian foreign ministry official Mohammad Tanhaei on Wednesday as saying security personnel had questioned two French embassy staff after they met individuals who are being investigated for security reasons.
“Security agents transferred the two individuals to the diplomatic police as soon as they realised their link to the French embassy,” he was quoted as saying, as well as adding that there had been no intimidation.
French foreign ministry spokesperson Pascal Confavreux denied this, saying the two diplomats had been meeting a supplier for the embassy.
“They were acting in a professional framework and despite giving their identities and profession, were held for four hours,” he said, reiterating that one of the diplomats had been subjected to physical violence.
Confavreux said there had been a pattern of intimidation in recent months as France sought to increase its support for, and contacts with, Iran’s civil society following a crackdown on protests at the start of this year.
Since then, Tehran has sought to forestall domestic unrest with arrests, executions and street deployments by security forces as the war with the United States continues.
Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot has said the incident will not go without consequences. Diplomats say Paris is considering various options and that its response could be announced on Thursday.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said he had told Barrot on Tuesday that the diplomats’ actions were “unconventional and unprofessional”, and urged Paris to prevent a recurrence of such incidents.
(Reporting by Elwely Elwelly in Dubai and John Irish in Paris; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Timothy Heritage)
