France urgently cordons off Iranian embassy in Paris as man threatens to blow himself up
A man has threatened to blow himself up near the embassy
Reuters
A man has threatened to blow himself up near Iran's Paris consulate, causing France to urgently cordon off the embassy.
Police have asked the public to avoid the area - just across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower.
The man was holed up "within the consulate in the presence of the ambassador," before he was later arrested.
Witnesses said it was around 11.00am when they saw the man at the Iranian consulate remove his coat to reveal a belt of explosives.
Police have asked the public to avoid the area - just across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower
Reuters
When the man exited the embassy at around 2.45pm, special forces searched him and found no actual explosives on him, police sources said.
Reports say Sentinel soldiers, the BRI (an elite police unit) and several firefightershave been stationed around the embassy.
Le Parisien newspaper reported that the man dragged flags through the consulate and said he wanted to avenge the death of his brother.
Services have been interrupted on nearby metro lines 6 and 9 for "security reasons", transport provider RATP said.
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Heavily armed officers were stationed around the embassy
Reuters
A source at the Paris police headquarters said: “This day around 11am, a man was seen by a single witness entering the Iranian consulate at rue de Fresnel in Paris 16 carrying a grenade or an explosive vest."
They added that "the police prefect has mobilised the BRI", stating that the consulate had made a "request for intervention" to the police headquarters.
The embassy is situated on Rue Fresnel in the 16th arrondissement on the north bank of River Seine, near popular tourist destinations like the Louvre and Champs-Élysées.
It is unclear whether the incident had any link to ongoing tensions between Iran and Israel.
Reports say Sentinel soldiers, the BRI (an elite police unit) and several firefighters have been stationed around the embassy
Reuters
It comes after Israel launched a retaliatory strike against Iran, just days after Tehran fired more than 300 drones and missiles.
Benjamin Netanyahu, who vowed to seek revenge at a "maximum level", reportedly hit sites near a military base in the early hours of this morning. Israel has launched a retaliatory strike against Iran just days after Tehran fired more than 300 drones and missiles.
Tehran claimed the explosions were as a result of Iran’s air defence systems being activated.
Iran’s space agency spokesman Hossein Dalirian said “several” drones had been “successfully shot down” and there were no reports of a missile attack.
He added: “There are no reports of a missile attack for now.”
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