PARIS, April  19, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - French authorities Friday detained a man

suspected of entering the Iranian consulate in Paris and falsely claiming to be
armed with an explosive vest, police and prosecutors said.

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

       The man, born in 1963 in Iran, had already been convicted for setting fire
to tyres in front of the entrance of the Iranian embassy in Paris in 2023, the
Paris prosecutor's office said.

       Police arrested the suspect, who has not been named, when he exited of his
own accord after appearing to have "threatened violent action" inside, it said.
       But "no explosive materials have been observed at this stage," either on
him, in his car or in the building.

       According to a police source, who asked not to be named, he was wearing a
vest with large pockets containing three fake grenades.

       Police earlier told AFP that the consulate 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.
       Traffic was temporarily suspended on two metro lines that pass through
stops close to the consulate, Paris transport company RATP said.

       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.
       
       - Facing court -
    
       
       The office of the Paris prosecutor confirmed that the same man was due to
appear in court on Monday over a fire at the diplomatic mission in September
2023.

       A lower court had handed him an eight-month suspended sentence and
prohibited him from entering the area around the consulate for two years and
carrying weapons.

       But he is appealing the verdict.

       At the time, the man had claimed the action as an act of opposition to
Iran's clerical authorities as they faced the "Woman. Life. Freedom."
nationwide protests.

       Reports said that the man left Iran in the wake of the 1979 Islamic
revolution and has expressed sympathy towards the former imperial regime.

       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.

       The incident at the Iranian consulate prompted the Paris embassy of the
United States, Iran's arch-foe, to issue a security alert for its citizens.

       "Americans are advised to avoid the area and follow instructions from local
authorities," it said.