Iran calls on France to respect law after suspending French cultural institute in Tehran over ‘illegal’ activities
Iran has called on France to respect the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and comply with Iranian laws and regulations following the suspension of an educational institution affiliated with the French embassy in Tehran.
In a statement on Monday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry strongly rejected the “baseless and false” claims regarding a French-language center linked to the French embassy in Tehran, made in a statement issued by France’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry once again underscored the need for the French embassy to refrain from any action that violates the law or falls outside diplomatic norms.
It said the suspension of the institution’s “illegal” activities in Tehran was carried out under a judicial order following the French embassy’s “continued and prolonged” disregard for repeated warnings from competent Iranian authorities over several years.
The ministry said the warnings concerned the need to legally register the center and obtain the necessary permits for its operation.
The provisions of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations concerning the privileges and immunities of embassies are clear, it said.
“The French embassy is required to obtain the necessary legal permits for the establishment and operation of centers and institutions with cultural and educational functions, in accordance with the laws and regulations of the host country.”
According to the ministry, the French embassy’s insistence on disregarding the provisions of the Vienna Convention and expecting to be exempt from Iran’s laws and regulations is “not acceptable at all.”
On September 20, Iran suspended the activities of the French Language Centre (CLF) in Tehran, saying the French embassy-affiliated institution had engaged in “illegal acts that violated diplomatic conventions” and “abused its status as a language training facility.”
French Foreign Ministry spokesman Pascal Confavreux said in a statement that France would take appropriate measures in response to the suspension.
“This new attack against France’s cultural presence in Iran, following the assault on two staff members of the French embassy last July, is unjustifiable and unacceptable,” Confavreux said.
Iran FM: Our first task in New York is to defend the just cause of Iranian people
US visa ban on Iranian president’s media team is bid to hide the truth: FM spokesman
US aggression, economic warfare amount to crimes against humanity: Iran's UN envoy
Israel, US repeat Saddam’s miscalculation about Iran: Expediency Council chief
VIDEO | Ayatollah Khamenei and eight years of imposed war
Trump can’t impose his power on Iran; we withstand whatever warfare: Parliament speaker
VIDEO | Israeli attacks escalate in Lebanon as US-brokered deal yields only concessions: Press TV reporter
Eleven injured as gunman opens fire near high school in western Turkey
China condemns US extortion of Iranian airlines, rejects Washington’s ‘illegal’ sanctions threats
VIDEO | Strikes hit areas in south Lebanon where Israeli regime claims to control
Sirens, explosions sound in Saudi Arabia’s Najran along border with Yemen
PressTV NEWSLETTER
now
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
