After the attack on Israel by Iranian drones, during the night from Saturday to Sunday, Stéphane Séjourné, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, summoned the Iranian ambassador this Monday. “Our message must be that of firmness, to ensure de-escalation,” declared the French minister. A meeting with a ghost or with a diplomat working remotely from his country? Indeed, on the networks, voices affirm that there is no longer an Iranian ambassador to France for several years.
On the France diplomacy website, the page dedicated to Iran doesn’t really make you want to go sightseeing there. “The entire Iranian territory is placed in red on the travel advice map”, we read in the preamble, the Quai d’Orsay then specifying that “any French visitor […] is exposed to a significant risk of arrest, arbitrary detention and unfair trial.” And for the French who are already in Iran, France diplomatie recommends that they “temporarily leave the country”.
A new ambassador appointed a month ago
In short, relations are not good, to the point that some even claim that the representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran was recalled to his country “a few years” ago. In fact, there is indeed a representative of Iran in France. His name also appears on the embassy website, not as an ambassador but as a “charge d’affaires”. His name is Seyed Hossein Samimifar, and he took up this position in 2021, his role being to fulfill the functions of ambassador while awaiting the return of the diplomat in title or the appointment of a new ambassador.
We can therefore effectively say that between 2021 and 2024, there was no Iranian ambassador to France. But that is no longer the case. Just a month ago, Tehran appointed Mohammad Amin-Nejad asambassador to Paris according to the news agency of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRNA), information confirmed by the embassy in 20 minutes. During his meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, the new ambassador presented his “road map” to “contribute further to the development of bilateral relations”. At the time, the Iranian minister was also convinced that “opportunities existed” to “develop political and economic relations between Iran and France”.