Tehran says the embassy-linked institution operated without authorization and engaged in activities which threatened national security<\/p>\n
Iran has shut down a French-language center in Tehran, accusing the embassy-affiliated institution of operating illegally and engaging in activities which threaten the country\u2019s national security.Relations between Paris and Tehran have deteriorated despite France staying out of the war which the US and Israel launched against Iran in late February and denouncing the initial strikes as a breach of international law.In July, two French diplomats were detained by Iranian security services, which accused them of interfering in the country\u2019s internal affairs. They were subsequently expelled from the country. France retaliated in August by expelling two of Iran\u2019s diplomats.\u201cBased on the Tehran prosecutor\u2019s office\u2019s order, the illegal center affiliated with the French Embassy in Tehran, which has operated for years under the guise of language instruction, has been closed,\u201d the Iranian judiciary\u2019s Mizan news agency said on Sunday.
\nIranian authorities claimed that the institution had repeatedly ignored warnings to obtain the licenses required under the country\u2019s laws and had conducted activities that \u201cviolated diplomatic conventions.\u201d They also accused it of using language instruction as cover to promote projects opposed to Iranian-Islamic culture, identify and build networks, and facilitate the departure of skilled Iranians from the country.<\/p>\n
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Iran sends peace terms to US<\/p>\n
France has condemned the closure as an attack on its cultural presence in Iran and said it would take \u201cappropriate measures\u201d in response. Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot has ordered the Iranian ambassador to be summoned.The French Language Centre (CLF) offered French language courses in Tehran, with thousands of Iranians attending its classes each year, according to the French Foreign Ministry.In January 2023, Tehran closed the French Institute for Research in Iran after the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo published dozens of cartoons mocking then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and Iran\u2019s religious establishment. The images, some of which were graphic or sexually explicit, were selected through an international contest called \u201cMullahs Get Out\u201d and were intended to support anti-government protests in Iran.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tehran says the embassy-linked institution operated without authorization and engaged in activities which threatened national security Iran has shut down a French-language center in Tehran, accusing the embassy-affiliated institution of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38524,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t