Iran Issues Travel Warning for France

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani, during a press conference (Iranian Foreign Ministry)
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani, during a press conference (Iranian Foreign Ministry)
TT

Iran Issues Travel Warning for France

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani, during a press conference (Iranian Foreign Ministry)
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani, during a press conference (Iranian Foreign Ministry)

Iran advised its citizens to avoid traveling to France, whose major cities have been gripped with violent unrest for days.

Tehran also called on the French government and police to exercise self-restraint, avoid violence, and pay attention to the protesters' demands.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Nasser Kanaani, advised on Sunday Iranian nationals to stay away from "unnecessary trips" to France, amid ongoing unrest there following the police shooting of a teenage boy.

"We advise the French government and police to heed the demands of the protesters while exercising restraint and avoiding violence," he said.

"The government of France is expected to stop coercive treatment of its people by respecting the principles based upon human dignity, freedom of speech, and the citizens' right to peaceful protests," the spokesman added.

France is witnessing widespread riots after a French police officer shot and killed Nael, 17, during a traffic check.

Tehran had previously harshly criticized France for the protests that erupted in Iran after the death of the young woman, Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by the morality police.

Iranian authorities blamed foreign parties for the outbreak of the latest wave of protests, describing them as "riots."

Last month, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said in a speech marking the thirty-fourth anniversary of Khomeini's passing, that the riots last autumn were "planned comprehensively in the think tanks of Western nations and carried out with the extensive financial, military, and media backing of the Western security agencies, the traitors and mercenaries who turned against their homeland, and the agents pursuing policies hostile to Iran."

Khamenei also reviewed a long list of accusations against Western countries, saying they included "teaching how to make hand grenades through foreign media, promoting separatist slogans and armed movements, and senior politicians from some Western governments taking photos with mercenaries who claimed to be Iranian."

Hundreds of citizens and dozens of security forces were killed on the sidelines of the protests, and the authorities arrested more than 20,000. It also detained foreign tourists who were visiting the country.

In October, the Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned French President Emmanuel Macron for remarks in which he expressed solidarity with protesters, saying it was "meddlesome" and served to encourage "violent people and lawbreakers."

In May, Iran released two French detainees, and France is still seeking the return of four citizens detained in Tehran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told Le Figaro newspaper that Paris had taken positive steps, and the two sides are continuing their contact to overcome misunderstandings.

The French foreign ministry described the four French citizens imprisoned by Iran as "hostages."

The detainees include Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, arrested on May 7, 2022, Louis Arnaud, detained since September 28, and another French citizen confirmed to be held but never named.

 



France Accuses Iran of ‘Repression’ in Sentence for Nobel Laureate

People cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP)
People cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP)
TT

France Accuses Iran of ‘Repression’ in Sentence for Nobel Laureate

People cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP)
People cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP)

France accused Iran on Monday of "repression and intimidation" after a court handed Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi a new six-year prison sentence on charges of harming national security.

Mohammadi, sentenced Saturday, was also handed a one-and-a-half-year prison sentence for "propaganda" against Iran's system, according to her foundation.

"With this sentence, the Iranian regime has, once again, chosen repression and intimidation," the French foreign ministry said in a statement, describing the 53-year-old as a "tireless defender" of human rights.

Paris is calling for the release of the activist, who was arrested before protests erupted nationwide in December after speaking out against the government at a funeral ceremony.

The movement peaked in January as authorities launched a crackdown that activists say has left thousands dead.

Over the past quarter-century, Mohammadi has been repeatedly tried and jailed for her vocal campaigning against Iran's use of capital punishment and the mandatory dress code for women.

Mohammadi has spent much of the past decade behind bars and has not seen her twin children, who live in Paris, since 2015.

Iranian authorities have arrested more than 50,000 people as part of their crackdown on protests, according to US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).


Iran's Supreme Leader Urges Iranians to Show 'Resolve' against Foreign Pressure

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on (File Photo/Supreme Leader's website).
Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on (File Photo/Supreme Leader's website).
TT

Iran's Supreme Leader Urges Iranians to Show 'Resolve' against Foreign Pressure

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on (File Photo/Supreme Leader's website).
Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on (File Photo/Supreme Leader's website).

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on Monday called on his compatriots to show "resolve" ahead of the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution this week.

Since the revolution, "foreign powers have always sought to restore the previous situation", Ali Khamenei said, referring to the period when Iran was under the rule of shah Reza Pahlavi and dependent on the United States, AFP reported.

"National power is less about missiles and aircraft and more about the will and steadfastness of the people," the leader said, adding: "Show it again and frustrate the enemy."


UK PM's Communications Director Quits

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards, Britain, February 05, 2026. Peter Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards, Britain, February 05, 2026. Peter Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS
TT

UK PM's Communications Director Quits

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards, Britain, February 05, 2026. Peter Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards, Britain, February 05, 2026. Peter Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's director of communications Tim Allan resigned on Monday, a day after Starmer's top aide Morgan McSweeney quit over his role in backing Peter Mandelson over his known links to Jeffrey Epstein.

The loss of two senior aides ⁠in quick succession comes as Starmer tries to draw a line under the crisis in his government resulting from his appointment of Mandelson as ambassador to the ⁠US.

"I have decided to stand down to allow a new No10 team to be built. I wish the PM and his team every success," Allan said in a statement on Monday.

Allan served as an adviser to Tony Blair from ⁠1992 to 1998 and went on to found and lead one of the country’s foremost public affairs consultancies in 2001. In September 2025, he was appointed executive director of communications at Downing Street.