While the Islamic Republic desperately seeks to preserve its multilateral nuclear agreement, the Ayatollah regime is facing a first blow since the American pullout. Paris, which has been one of the strongest advocates of salvaging a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, has instructed its diplomats and foreign ministry officials to postpone indefinitely all non-essential travel to Iran, citing a foiled bomb plot and a hardening of Tehran’s attitude towards France. In an internal memo with directives to Paris’ diplomatic core, the French government cited a foiled plot to bomb a rally held by an exiled Iranian opposition group near the French capital, that was attended by Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani. The plot to bomb a rally on French soil was viewed in Paris as a sign of Tehran’s more aggressive stance towards France. “The decision to bomb the grand meeting of the Iranian resistance in Paris was made at the highest levels at the National Security Council which was chaired by (Iranian President Hassan) Rouhani, the president of the regime (and) approved (Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah) Ali Khamenei, the regime’s supreme leader,” Iranian Opposition group NCRI – Spokesman Shahin Gobadi said.
The French foreign ministry declined to comment on the memo or say whether embassy staff had been asked to repatriate their families. Iranian officials at the Embassy in Paris did not respond to a request for comment.