France to Expel Two Iranian Diplomats Over Assault on Its Envoys in Tehran

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Tuesday that two Iranian diplomats will be expelled from France in the coming days, calling Tehran's treatment of two French diplomats an intolerable act. He said the pair, one of them the cultural attaché, were scandalously and deliberately assaulted on July 19, held for hours without reason, interrogated, and one of them physically abused. Iran said the two had operated under diplomatic cover in breach of the 1961 Vienna Convention and denies they were beaten; both had overseen French programs supporting Iranian artists, students and scientists. On Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said they would not be permitted to return.