France appoints new amb. to Iran after months of diplomatic rift

Iran and France are set to exchange ambassadors after months of diplomatic tensions.

According to a Wednesday report by French Daily ‘Official Gazette’, Philippe Thiebaud, a former envoy to Pakistan who once represented France at the UN atomic watchdog, has been appointed as the new ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that Tehran has appointed Bahram Ghasemi, the current spokesman of the Foreign Ministry and a former envoy to Spain and Italy, as the new ambassador to France.

The new ambassadors will fill posts that have been vacant for more than six months. The previous ambassadors left their missions last summer.

The diplomatic tensions mounted between the two sides last year over several issues.

In June, France accused Iran of being involved in a failed attack on an opposition conference in Paris.

Tehran strongly denied the accusations, slamming Paris for hosting the MKO terrorist group, which has killed thousands of Iranians in a violent campaign of terrorist bombings and assassination across the Islamic Republic and Iraq.

Later in December 2018, France accused Iran of violating UNSC Resolution 2231 through its ballistic missile program. However, Tehran dismissed the unfounded claims, calling on Paris to avoid repeating the irresponsible and incorrect claims.

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