French police detain intruder at Iranian consulate in Paris

French authorities Friday detained a man suspected of entering the Iranian consulate in Paris and claiming to be carrying explosives, police and prosecutors said.

No explosives or arms were found on the man or the premises after he surrendered to police after the incident.

Police arrested the suspect, born in 1963 in Iran, when he exited of his own accord after appearing to have "threatened violent action" inside, the Paris prosecutor's office said.

But "no explosive materials have been observed at this stage," either on him, in his car or in the building, it said.

A police source earlier told AFP that the mission called in law enforcement after a witness saw "a man enter carrying a grenade or an explosive belt".

An AFP journalist said the whole neighbourhood around the consulate in the capital's 16th district had been closed off and a heavy police presence was in place.

Paris transport company RATP wrote on X, formerly Twitter, said traffic had been suspended on two metro lines that pass through stops close to the consulate.

Iran's embassy and consulate in the French capital share the same building but have two different entrances on separate streets.

The incident came with tensions running high in the Middle East and Israel launching an apparent strike on central Iran overnight.

There was however no suggestion of any link.

French broadcaster BFM TV, citing a source close to the investigation, reported that the same man was due to appear in court on Monday over a fire at the consulate in September 2023.

A lower court had handed him an eight-month suspended sentence and prohibited him from entering the area around the consulate, but he is appealing the verdict, it said.

France raised its national security alert to its maximum level following an attack on a concert venue in Moscow on March 22, for which the Islamic State group claimed responsibility.

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