France has announced it will expel two Iranian diplomats stationed in Paris within days, escalating a diplomatic confrontation with Tehran that began when French embassy staff were detained and banned from returning to Iran. Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot made the announcement on Tuesday evening, describing the expulsion as a direct response to what he called the "intolerable" treatment of two French diplomats who were briefly arrested in Tehran last month.

The crisis traces back to 19 July, when Iranian security services detained the two French embassy officials — one of whom was the cultural attaché — during a meeting at the home of a Tehran-based graphic designer. Barrot said the diplomats were held for several hours and questioned in "flagrant violation of diplomatic immunity," with one of them physically abused. Iran's foreign ministry formally declared the two French officials persona non grata on Monday, stating they would not be permitted to return to Iran. Paris responded by summoning the Iranian ambassador to the French foreign ministry on the Quai d'Orsay, before announcing the retaliatory expulsions.

Tehran has offered a sharply different account of events. Iranian authorities denied any mistreatment, saying the diplomats had only been briefly questioned after being found at what they described as a "secret meeting" connected to a national security investigation. Iran's intelligence ministry claimed that documents recovered at the scene pointed to "a vast scheme aimed at building influence and preparing the ground for actions targeting Iran's independence," and said signatures of a former French ambassador to Tehran were found among the seized materials. Iran accused the diplomats of interfering in its internal affairs "under the pretext of engaging with civil society."

At the centre of the incident are two prominent Iranian graphic designers, Aria Kasaei, 46, and Elly Naghilou, 36, who were arrested alongside the French diplomats during the same meeting. The pair had been collaborating with the French embassy's cultural programme, Villa Zadig — an artistic residency and exchange initiative — and were working on its visual identity. Supporters say the two designers have been held continuously since their arrest and have called on Paris to help secure their release and access to independent legal counsel. Barrot did not mention the Iranian designers by name in his public statement, though he emphasised that France's support for Iranian "artists, scientists and researchers" was precisely why its diplomats had been targeted.

The episode reflects a long pattern of tension between France and Iran. As recently as early this year, the last two French nationals previously held in Iran — Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris — were released after years of detention, part of a broader cycle of arrests that rights groups describe as politically motivated. With the tit-for-tat expulsions now under way, analysts and rights organisations warn that Iranian civil society is bearing the heaviest cost, as authorities intensify a crackdown that accelerated following protests in January 2026.