Iran Accuses French Police Of Slow Response To Attack On Embassy

The Iranian Embassy in Paris after it was attacked on September 15.

Iran has accused police in Paris of failing to respond quickly to what it called an attack against its embassy in the French capital by Kurdish activists.

A spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry confirmed on September 15 that the attack occurred a day earlier, "with a number of arrests" made.

"The French government should take all necessary measures to protect Iranian diplomatic missions in that country," ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi was quoted as saying by the official government news agency IRNA.

"Unfortunately, the French police did not arrive as expected on the scene on time, although the assailants were members of a terrorist organization," he added.

The semiofficial Fars news agency reported that about 15 Kurdish activists burned the Iranian flag in front of the embassy during the incident and broke some windows with stones.

A Paris police spokeswoman said only that "individuals" threw objects and smashed windows at the embassy. She said she did not have information about the motives or identities of the people who were outside the embassy.

She said officers searched 12 people but that no one was taken into custody because embassy personnel chose not to file a complaint.

Iran has accused France of supporting opposition groups seeking to overthrow the Islamic republic.

France has rejected the allegations.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps fired seven missiles last week at the headquarters in northern Iraq of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, an armed opposition group that fights for more autonomy for Iran's Kurdish minority.

Iranian media has reported that at least 11 people were killed in the attacks.

With reporting by Reuters, IRNA, and FARS