Relations between France and Iran are strained. The background is a cartoon dispute and the ongoing criticism of the violent behavior of Iranian security forces during the protests. In response to the publication of cartoons by the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo Iran closed a decades-old French institute in Tehran.
The magazine published caricatures of the head of state Ali Khamenei on Wednesday. One of the selected drawings shows Khamenei trying to save himself from drowning on a rope in a lake of blood. Always mocked Charlie Hebdo Iranian politicians. The magazine was therefore placed on a sanctions list by the Islamic Republic.
Iran’s authorities announced on Tuesday that two French nationals had been charged with espionage and “conspiracy against national security”. The Isna news agency quoted the head of the government’s information council, Sepehr Khalaji, as saying that they were not tourists but were arrested as troublemakers “in the midst of the chaos”.
According to the judiciary, at least 40 foreigners have been arrested since the protests broke out in mid-September. Iran often justifies the arrests with allegations of espionage. Critics accuse Tehran of holding foreign nationals as political hostages.