France announced Thursday it has evacuated its entire embassy staff from Iran, a day after Britain pulled its diplomats from Tehran following a day of escalating threats from both sides.
The evacuation follows an incident several days ago in which Iranian security officers detained and beat French diplomats in Tehran, according to Iran International. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot called the incident “an extremely serious and premeditated assault” that constitutes a blatant violation of diplomatic immunity, and stressed that Paris is considering all options available to it.
The diplomats were held for about four hours, during which they were denied access to communication and subjected to psychological pressure, before returning to France with the rest of the evacuated staff. Iran tried to deny the violence, claiming the two were only briefly questioned after attending a suspicious meeting—a claim Paris rejected before deciding to cut contact and evacuate its representatives.
1+Britain announced the evacuation of its diplomatic representatives from Tehran after raising its travel warning for the Middle East to include Israel. The British moves come after a day of threats from both sides—from Trump and from senior regime officials—in addition to reports that the Houthi terror organization is ready to attack ships again in the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
Britain also expanded its involvement in the conflict after incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham reversed his predecessor Keir Starmer’s decision and authorized the U.S. to use British bases for strikes on Iran, according to Bloomberg. With the authorization, the American military can strengthen its presence in the Mediterranean and use the UK’s bases on Cyprus.
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