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Report: France reducing its Tehran Embassy staff

Paris recalls non-essential staff from Iran as precautionary measure following raid on UK Embassy

France has decided to temporarily downsize its embassy in Tehran as a precautionary measure following the storming of the British embassy in Iran earlier in the week, a French diplomat said Saturday.

 

The decision will affect part of the diplomatic staff as well as all of the families of French personnel at the embassy, but not the French community in Tehran, the diplomatic source said.

 

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The non-essential staff that stands to be affected by the decision include personnel at the French Embassy, consulate, and economic and culture centers.

 

Personnel at the French School in Tehran will also be affected by the decision, the source said without providing more details.

 

No specific instructions to leave Iran have been issued to the French community in the Islamic Republic's capital, which includes around 800 people.

 

The decision follows the violent storming of Britain's diplomatic and residential compounds in Tehran on Tuesday by hundreds of raging pro-regime Iranian protesters.

 

The UK closed its embassy in Tehran and evacuated all its own diplomats from Iran. Tehran's apology over the incident did not sway London from closing down the Iranian Embassy in the British capital and expelling all Iranian diplomats.

 

Iran criticized the move and warned other EU nations backing Britain not to follow suit: "The British government is trying to involve other European countries in our bilateral issue. But we have told the Europeans not to trouble relations with Iran because of Britain," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ramin Mehmanparast said Saturday.

 

 

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פרסום ראשון: 12.03.11, 13:39
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