ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The French Foreign Ministry spokesperson late Sunday strongly condemned the intrusion of Iranian security forces into the French Language Center in Tehran and announcement of its subsequent closure.
Pascal Confavreux, Spokesperson for France’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs framed the closure as an “unjustifiable and unacceptable” move in the “latest attack against France’s cultural presence in Iran” which “follows the assault on two French embassy staff members last July,” adding that the closure “will penalize the thousands of Iranians who benefit each year from the French language courses offered by the French Language Center.”
“France will take appropriate measures in response” and at the request of Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, “the ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran will be summoned to the French foreign ministry, Quai d’Orsay,” according to a statement on X.
The condemnation from France comes after Iranian authorities on Sunday shut down the French language center in Tehran, accusing it of illegal operations and engagement in activities contrary to Iran’s national security, amid years of strained relations between the two countries.
The center remained active until shortly before its closure, advertising French-language courses and internationally recognized TCF and DELF-DALF examinations scheduled for September. Its official channels describe it as the center de Langue Française in Tehran, offering French-language instruction and proficiency examinations.
Iranian authorities said the Center de Langue Française de Téhéran (CLF) was sealed on the orders of the Tehran prosecutor for allegedly failing to obtain the permits required under Iranian law, despite repeated warnings.
The closure also comes as Iran moves to tighten oversight of foreign contacts and what authorities describe as foreign intelligence “infiltration.”
“The center allegedly exploited language education to carry out projects against Iranian-Islamic culture, national security and was working on identifying individuals, building networks and facilitating the departure of elites from the country,” according to the Tasnim news agency, affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
On Sunday, the Iranian parliament approved provisions requiring the Interior Ministry to establish an online system to register, manage and monitor foreign communications, with the Intelligence Ministry and the IRGC Intelligence Organization given full access.
The school has operated in Tehran for more than 20 years and is Iran’s only recognized French-language examination center accredited by France Éducation international (FEI), a French public institution.
Lawmakers also backed measures requiring state institutions to provide training on foreign influence, while the ministries of education, science and health would be tasked with incorporating lessons on “enemy infiltration” and media literacy into their curriculum, in coordination with the Intelligence Ministry and the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution.
The shutdown emerges against a backdrop of increasingly difficult relations between Iran and France.
Tehran has detained several French nationals in recent years on espionage and national-security charges rejected by Paris. Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, arrested in 2022, returned to France in April after more than three years in Iranian custody. France has also released an Iranian woman accused of supporting terrorism.
Tensions flared in July when two French diplomats were detained and questioned for several hours in Tehran.
France said one of the diplomats was physically assaulted and summoned Iran’s chargé d’affaires, while Tehran denied mistreatment and said the diplomats had been questioned over contacts with people under security investigation.
Iran's nuclear program, Tehran’s support for Russia, European sanctions and France’s criticism of Iran’s human rights record, have further flared the tension between the two countries.
