France will summon Iran's ambassador and take "appropriate measures" after Iranian authorities closed a French-language centre linked to its embassy in Tehran, the French Foreign Ministry said on Sunday. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pascal Confavreux condemned the closure as "unjustifiable and unacceptable".

"This new attack against France's cultural presence in Iran, following the assault on two staff members of the French embassy last July, is unjustifiable and unacceptable," Confavreux said in a statement. The French Foreign Ministry said it would "take appropriate measures to respond" and would summon Iran's ambassador in Paris at the request of Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot.

Iran announced on Sunday the closure of the centre it accused of conducting "illegal acts that violated diplomatic conventions". "Based on the Tehran prosecutor's office, the illegal centre affiliated with the French embassy in Tehran, which has operated for years under the guise of language instruction, was closed," the Iranian judiciary's Mizan news website said, referring to the French Language Centre (CLF).

It said the centre "abused its status as a language training facility" and sought to "identify and build networks among the country's elite figures while facilitating their departure". France has rejected these allegations as baseless.

Relations between Tehran and Paris have been strained in recent months. In August, Iran's Intelligence Ministry said it detained two French diplomats over alleged foreign interference during a national security investigation before handing them over to the French ambassador. Paris dismissed the accusations as unfounded.

The French government views the closure as another pressure tactic against its cultural and diplomatic presence in Iran. While Paris has promised "appropriate measures", the specific retaliatory steps have not been announced. International observers note the incident could further complicate an already tense situation in the Middle East.

Source: www.aljazeera.com