Iran's Embassy in Paris says situation 'under control' after attack

TEHRAN

Iran's Embassy in Paris said the situation is under control after reports of an attack on the diplomatic compound on Saturday.

Iranian state news agency IRNA cited the media advisor of the embassy as saying there was "no disruption in the activities of the consulate" and that the situation was "under control."

"The situation of the Iranian consulate building in Paris is under control following a hostile attack by a group of anti-revolutionary elements, and there has been no interruption in its activities," the official said.

He said the perpetrators of the attack are "wanted."

Earlier on Saturday, reports emerged about an attack on the Iranian Embassy in the French capital, inflicting damage to the backdoor of the diplomatic mission.

Images circulating on social media showed the embassy backdoor on fire, though they could not be independently verified.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack, but sections of the Iranian media accused Mujahideen-e-Khalq (MKO), an anti-Iran opposition group headquartered in Albania which also operates in France.

One report said MKO operatives pelted Molotov cocktails at the embassy compound.

It is not the first time Iran's Embassy in Paris has come under attack. In September 2018, some individuals threw objects and smashed the embassy windows, which sparked tensions between Tehran and Paris.

Iran's Foreign Ministry hasn't reacted to reports of the latest attack so far.

Tensions between Tehran and Paris have dramatically escalated since last year's violent protests in Iran after French President Emmanuel Macron hosted a group of exiled Iranian activists in Paris.

In January this year, Iran's Foreign Ministry ordered the closure of the cultural center at the French Embassy in Tehran over the publication of sacrilegious cartoons by the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, which further inflamed tensions between the two sides.