The Tehran prosecutor’s office, reported by the judiciary’s Mizan news website, said the French Language Centre (CLF), which has operated for years under the pretext of language instruction and is affiliated with the French embassy, was shut down for conducting illegal acts that violated diplomatic conventions.
Iranian officials alleged the centre abused its status as a language‑training facility to identify and build networks among Iran’s elite and to facilitate their departure from the country, claims that the judiciary described as a breach of diplomatic norms.
France’s foreign ministry responded that the closure constitutes a new attack on French cultural presence in Iran, following the July assault on two French embassy staff members, and called the move "unjustifiable and unacceptable."
Spokesman Pascal Confavreux said Paris would "take appropriate measures to respond" and that the ministry would summon Iran’s ambassador at the request of French Foreign Minister Jean‑Noël Barrot.
The incident comes amid already strained Iran‑France relations; last month France expelled two Iranian diplomats after a brief arrest and banning of two French envoys, accusing Tehran of interference in internal affairs.
Analysts warn that the closure could trigger further diplomatic retaliation, potentially affecting cultural exchanges, language programmes, and broader bilateral cooperation between the two nations.