Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Baqaei said Iran has already taken reciprocal action after determining that the French embassy in Tehran had gone beyond its duties.
“As soon as we felt that the French embassy was acting beyond its responsibilities, we took action and announced that two French diplomats must leave Iran and would not be allowed to return,” he said.
Baqaei stressed that relations between Iran and France must be based on mutual respect and non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, adding that Tehran would issue warnings whenever necessary.
“The French action is not justifiable, and such measures will be destructive to the continuation of relations between Iran and France,” the Iranian spokesman said.
Iran had earlier declared two French diplomats at the French Embassy in Tehran persona non grata and barred them from entering the country over what the Foreign Ministry described as activities contrary to international law and the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
The Foreign Ministry said several weeks had passed since the alleged unlawful activities were uncovered, but France had taken no steps to correct the conduct or provide assurances that it would not be repeated.
The move followed a warning by Iran’s Intelligence Ministry on August 15, which said the two French diplomats had been found attending a secret meeting linked to a major case involving foreign infiltration and interference in Iran’s internal affairs.
According to the ministry, the diplomats had violated Iranian laws and their diplomatic obligations, while documents recovered at the site allegedly pointed to a broader project involving infiltration, covert contacts and foreign interference.