[6] Impressed by the Persian visits, the French author Montesquieu wrote a fictional account about Persia, the Lettres persanes, in 1721.

Attempts to resume contact were made following the French Revolution, as France was in conflict with Russia and wished to find an ally against that country.

Furthermore, the Iranian king was involved in a territorial dispute with the Russian tsar following its annexation of Georgia, which had been intermittently part of Iran since the mid 16th century.

Great Britain would remove its military and diplomatic missions from Persia, occupy Kharg island, and attack Bushehr.

[10] France had close economic collaboration with Iran during the Pahlavi era, especially with numerous contracts related to public works.

The French government subsidiary company Cogéma and Tehran established the Sofidif (Société Franco–iranienne pour l’enrichissement de l’uranium par diffusion gazeuse) firm with 60% and 40% shares, respectively.

[citation needed] In their investigation La République atomique, France-Iran le pacte nucléaire, David Carr-Brown and Dominique Lorentz pointed to the Iranian intelligence services' responsibility.

[11][12] The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported in February 2023 concerns over undeclared modifications at Iran's Fordow nuclear site, which enriches uranium to 60 percent, a step below weapons grade.

[citation needed] Saddam's airforce included dozens of Dassault Mirage F1s, Dassault-Breguet Super Étendards, and Aérospatiale Gazelles, among other weaponry.

By 2000, France had become Iraq's largest supplier of military and dual-use equipment, according to a senior member of Congress who reportedly declined to be identified.

Saddam Hussein visited France in 1972 to officially finalize the agreements of petroleum cooperation between the two countries following nationalization of the Iraqi oil industry.

Hussein gave the French a list of weapons desired by the Iraqi military including radars, helicopters and fighter planes.

The Shah gave France a one billion dollar loan for a 10% share in Eurodif allowing Iran to purchase 10% of the enriched uranium produced by the Tricastin plant.

The Islamic government withdrew from nuclear cooperation agreements with France and a dispute over the Eurodif partnership greatly damaged ties between the two nations.

Claude Cheysson states that "Iraq is the only barrier to an Islamic onslaught that would destabilize the entire region and topple the moderate Arab regimes.

Along with other congressmen, he wrote a letter of protest to President Jacques Chirac, while longtime PMOI supporters such as Sheila Jackson-Lee, Democrat of Texas, criticized Maryam Radjavi's arrest.

In October 2022, Iranian authorities announced more arrests in "the case of French spies", accusing those detained of "conspiracy and collusion" to harm Iran's national security.

[24] In January 2023, French special forces seized a boat in the Gulf of Oman loaded with Iranian-supplied weapons and ammunition which were bound to militants in Yemen.

A reciprocal agreement protecting and encouraging investment signed by the French Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade on 12 May 2003 in Tehran came into force on 13 November 2004.

The French Secretary of State for Transport and the Sea, Mr. François Goulard, went to Iran on 20 June 2004, on the occasion of the resumption of Air France's Paris-Tehran flights.

IKCO and Iran's second-largest car company, Saipa, produce Logan in a joint venture with France's Renault.

In January 2007, Jacques Chirac warned in an interview that "if Iran were to launch a nuclear weapon against a country like Israel, it would lead to the immediate destruction of Tehran", but he quickly retracted his comments.

The Iranian movie maker Mohsen Makhmalbaf resided in France during the run-off to the elections in 2009 and was spreading anti-government propaganda and promoting the Green velvet revolution.

In late August 2010, Iran's state-run daily paper Kayhan called France's first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy a 'prostitute' after she had condemned the stoning sentence against Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani for adultery in an open letter, along with several French celebrities.

[33] On July 15, 2022, the French foreign ministry announced that France had requested Iran to free three filmmakers who were detained earlier that month.

[34] In a phone call with Masoud Pezeshkian on 29 July 2024, Macron cautioned Iran against its ongoing support for Russia's war in Ukraine.

Macron expressed that Iran had a responsibility to help prevent the escalation of tensions between Lebanon and Israel by ceasing its support for destabilizing actors.