Tehran: Iran's foreign ministry announced on Monday that France's decision to expel two Iranian diplomats, in retaliation to Tehran's ban on two French diplomats, is considered "illegal" by the Iranian government. "The action that France took is an illegal action in response to Iran's legal action, and is in no way helpful to bilateral relations," stated ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei during a weekly press conference.

According to France24.com, the diplomatic row began when two French diplomats were briefly arrested in Iran in July over alleged "interference" in Iran's internal affairs. Following this incident, Baqaei declared that the French diplomats would not be allowed to return to Iran. In response, French Foreign Minister Jean-No«l Barrot announced that two Iranian diplomats in France would face expulsion "in the coming days."

Barrot justified France's move as a consequence of what he described as "intolerable" treatment of the French diplomats, who were briefly detained in Tehran. He accused Iranian officials of targeting the diplomats in "flagrant violation of diplomatic immunity" and described the incident as "an extremely serious act of intimidation" by Iran's security service.

Baqaei had earlier insisted that Paris should issue an apology for the actions of the French diplomats, which he claimed breached the Vienna Convention governing diplomatic relations.