ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iranian authorities have shut down a French language center affiliated with the French embassy in Tehran, accusing it of operating illegally and engaging in activities contrary to Iran’s national security, amid years of strained relations between the two countries.
Iranian authorities said the Center de Langue Française de Téhéran (CLF) was sealed on the orders of the Tehran prosecutor for allegedly failing to obtain the permits required under Iranian law, despite repeated warnings.
“The center allegedly exploited the guise of language education to carry out projects against Iranian-Islamic culture and contrary to national security, and was engaged in identifying individuals, building networks and facilitating the departure of elites from the country,” read a statement on Tasnim news agency, affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The center remained active until shortly before its closure, advertising French-language courses and internationally recognized TCF and DELF-DALF examinations scheduled for September. Its official channels describe it as the center de Langue Française in Tehran, offering French-language instruction and proficiency examinations.
The closure also comes as Iran moves to tighten oversight of foreign contacts and what authorities describe as foreign intelligence “infiltration.”
On Sunday, the Iranian parliament approved provisions requiring the Interior Ministry to establish an online system to register, manage and monitor foreign communications, with the Intelligence Ministry and the IRGC Intelligence Organisation given full access.
Lawmakers also backed measures requiring state institutions to provide training on foreign influence, while the ministries of education, science and health would be tasked with incorporating lessons on “enemy infiltration” and media literacy into their curricula, in coordination with the Intelligence Ministry and the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution.
The closure of the French school also comes against a backdrop of increasingly difficult relations between Iran and France.
Tehran has detained several French nationals in recent years, often on espionage or national-security charges rejected by Paris. French citizens Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris were arrested in 2022 and later accused by Iranian authorities of espionage. France described their detention as arbitrary and the accusations as unfounded. They were eventually allowed to return to France in April after more than three years in Iranian custody. France also released an Iranian woman accused of supporting terrorism.
Tensions flared again in July when two French diplomats were detained and questioned for several hours in Tehran. France said one of them was physically assaulted and summoned Iran’s chargé d’affaires, while Tehran denied mistreatment and said the diplomats had been questioned over contacts with people under security investigation.
Relations have also been strained by disputes over Iran’s nuclear programme, Tehran’s support for Russia, European sanctions and France’s criticism of Iran’s human rights record.
The school has operated in the heart of Tehran for more than 20 years and is the country’s only recognized French-language examination center accredited by France Éducation international (FEI), a public institution under the French Ministry of National Education and Youth that promotes French-language learning and international educational cooperation.
