French Police Arrest Suspected Suicide Bomber After Surrounding Iran Consulate In Paris
Update(1049ET): The crisis at the Iranian consulate in Paris appears to be resolved, with a suspect under arrest and being investigated, according to France24:
A Paris police official said the man was seen at about 11am local time (0900 GMT) entering the consulate, carrying what appeared to be a grenade and an explosive vest.
The man later left the consulate and on being searched was found not to be carrying any explosives, a police source said. The man's motives were not immediately clear.
The report further said, "Le Parisien newspaper said on its website that, according to several witnesses, the man had dragged flags on the floor of the consulate and said he wanted to avenge the death of his brother."
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A major police and emergency response is ongoing outside the Iranian consulate in Paris on Friday, where a man is reportedly threatening to blow himself up in what's possibly some kind of hostage standoff.
Police are asking the public to avoid the area and say that security services' intervention in the situation is imminent. "Service was interrupted on a nearby metro line for security reasons," the RATP metro company has alerted the public.
The consulate is at Rue Fresnel in the 16th district of the capital city, and the standoff comes just hours after an overnight Israeli aerial attack on Iran, which involved drones infiltrating Iranian airspace and also possibly Israeli jets firing from over Iraqi airspace. Iran said its anti-air defenses intercepted all threats.
However, the Iran-Israel situation has since avoided tit-for-tat escalation since the overnight assault, with the Iranians saying they do not plan to respond and escalate further.
Currently, few details are known of the consulate standoff, with conflicting reports saying the man may have a suicide vest on, or is carrying several grenades under his belt. French security services have at this point revealed little, and likely themselves possess few verified details of the situation.
#BREAKING: French forces surround Iranian consulate in Paris where man threatens to blow himself up#Iran #France #Paris pic.twitter.com/HSm1JcowaW
— WorldNews (@FirstWorldNewss) April 19, 2024
Local media footage has shown heavily armed police units cordoning off the area where the consulate is located. It remains unclear how many Iranian diplomats and consular workers might be inside.
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