French prosecutors say no explosives were found on the suspect or in the Iranian consular office in Paris.
French police arrested a man who threatened to blow himself up at the Iranian embassy in Paris.
Police did not find explosives at the embassy or the suspect who was detained there on Friday, French prosecutors said, after the embassy’s consular office reported that a man had entered with ammunition.
Police arrested the suspect, born in 1963 in Iran, when he left of his own free will after appearing to have “threatened violent action” inside, the Agence France-Presse news agency said, citing the Paris prosecutor’s office.
But “no explosive material was observed at this stage,” either on him, in his car or in the building, prosecutors said.
A police source told Reuters news agency that the man was seen at around 11am (0900 GMT) entering the consular office, carrying what appeared to be a grenade and an explosive vest. The police cordoned off the area.
The man later left the office and was detained, the police source said.
BFM TV channel said he was carrying replica grenades.
A police source said it was the same man suspected of attempted arson near the Iranian embassy in an incident in September.
The newspaper Le Parisien stated on its website that, according to several witnesses, the man dragged flags across the floor of the consulate and said he wanted to avenge his brother’s death.
An AFP journalist said the entire neighborhood around the consulate in the capital’s 16th district has been closed off and there is a heavy police presence.
Parisian transport company RATP wrote on social media platform X that traffic was suspended on two metro lines that pass through stops near the consulate.
The Iranian embassy and consulate in the French capital share the same building, but have two different entrances on separate streets.
The incident occurred amid high tensions in the Middle East; however, there was no suggestion of any link.
On Friday morning, explosions rang out in the Iranian city of Isfahan in what sources described as an Israeli attack. Tehran downplayed the incident and indicated it had no plans to retaliate, a response that appeared designed to avoid a regional war.
Meanwhile, countries around the world and the United Nations have called for de-escalation as tensions in the region rise.
The U.S. embassy in Paris urged Americans to avoid the area around the Iranian embassy, following similar recommendations from French police.
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