Wife, Son of French Envoy Out of Iran : 1st People Allowed to Leave Embassy Since July Breaking of Ties

The wife and infant son of a French diplomat arrived in Paris from Iran today, the first people allowed to leave the French Embassy in Tehran since Iran and France broke diplomatic relations last month.

Estelle Torri and her 2-month-old son, Paul, were welcomed by French officials at Orly International Airport this morning. She was escorted past about 30 reporters and made no comment.

Her husband, Paul Torri, French Embassy first secretary in Tehran, remained at the compound, which continues to be blocked by Iranian authorities intent on keeping French diplomats from leaving since both countries broke diplomatic relations July 17.

The Iranians accused Torri of spying after the French government asked to question Wahid Gordji, an Iranian Embassy translator in Paris, in connection with a series of terrorist bombings in the French capital last fall.

A police cordon is set up around the Iranian Embassy here, where embassy personnel have remained for more than a month.

‘War of the Embassies’

Since diplomatic relations were broken, neither side has been able to repatriate its diplomats or establish alternative diplomatic channels for arranging the exchange.

The Iranian decision to let Estelle Torri leave was mentioned by French Foreign Minister Jean-Bernard Raimond in a nationally televised interview Sunday.

Raimond said the decision is the first development since July in what the French press is calling “the war of the embassies.”

France says Gordji does not have diplomatic status and must turn himself over for questioning by a magistrate investigating the September bombings in which 11 people died. Gordji has refused.