Mr. President of the Republic,
I have the honor, as a French citizen, of addressing to you a solemn and urgent request.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC, known as the Pasdaran) was officially designated a terrorist organization by the European Union on January 29, 2026, a decision endorsed by the Council February 19, 2026, with France’s active support.
Despite this designation, the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Paris continues to shelter and protect active members of this terrorist organization.
Iranian terrorism targeting France
These agents create a grave and intolerable climate of insecurity on national territory: They explicitly designate, as priority targets, French citizens, French nationals of Iranian origin (opponents in exile and victims of assassination and abduction plots), as well as French Jews, as has been repeatedly denounced by the Directorate General for Internal Security (DGSI) and European intelligence services.
The facts are dramatic and recent:
• On March 12, 2026, Chief Warrant Officer Arnaud Frion became the first French soldier killed by an Iranian Shahed drone near Erbil in Iraq; six other French soldiers were wounded in the same attack.
• Hezbollah, Iran’s direct armed proxy, assassinated 58 French soldiers in the Drakkar bombing in Beirut in 1983.
• Since October 7, 2023, Hamas – in an operation funded, armed, and directed by Tehran – has killed 51 French nationals.
In these circumstances, where the Iranian regime has already caused the death of Frion along with 109 other French citizens and soldiers, the presence on our soil of an embassy sheltering agents of a terrorist organization is incompatible with national security and with the Republic’s duty to protect all its citizens.
The responsibility of the French president
This, Mr. President, is a constitutional duty and exclusive power that falls personally upon you.
Article 5 of the Constitution of October 4, 1958, provides that “the President of the Republic… is the guarantor of national independence, of the integrity of the territory and of respect for treaties.” You also possess the requisite powers to act without delay regarding:
• Article 9 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of April 18, 1961, under which the receiving state may, “at any time and without having to explain its decision,” declare any member of the diplomatic staff persona non grata, and
• Articles 5, 14, and 52 of the Constitution, which grant you exclusive authority over foreign policy and the accreditation (or withdrawal of accreditation) of foreign diplomatic missions.
I therefore solemnly and urgently request that you:
1. Order the immediate closure of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Paris;
2. Order the immediate expulsion of all members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps present on French territory, including those enjoying diplomatic or consular cover.
France must set an example for the whole of Europe. The French people – and in particular French Jews and French citizens of Iranian origin – expect you to fulfill this constitutional duty for their security, after the deaths of 58 French soldiers in the Drakkar attack, 51 French nationals at the hands of Hamas, and our first soldier, Arnaud Frion.
Awaiting your immediate and decisive action, Mr. President, I remain respectfully yours,
David Nataf
The writer is a Portugal- and Israel-based French entrepreneur, legal adviser, and expert in crypto assets, information security and computer warfare. A former lecturer at the Institut des Hautes Études de Défense Nationale (IHEDN) on influence operations, he has participated in French parliamentary missions on economic intelligence and advised on digital threats facing France and European institutions. He regularly comments on French foreign policy and Middle East affairs.