FNA - Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Abbas Mousavi lashed out at French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian for his recent remarks on Iran, stressing that Tehran does not tolerate meddling in its judicial affairs.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran will not tolerate at all any discrediting of its principles of governance, including independence of its judiciary,” Mousavi said on Wednesday.

He added that under Iran’s Constitution, the Judiciary is a totally independent body, warning that a one-sided interpretation of independent judicial rulings would not serve the relations between Iran and France.

The remarks came a day after Le Drian announced his country would take a tougher stance with Iran after Tehran sentenced Fariba Adelkhah, an Iranian-French academic to prison.

Mousavi said the investigation of the "crimes of Iranian citizens" is solely within the jurisdiction of the "Iranian courts", and added that the case in question has been heard in court.

He stressed that Adelkhah has enjoyed her citizenship rights.

“The verdict has been issued by a lower court and Ms. Adelkhah can appeal it through legal channels,” Mousavi said.

In October last year, Mousavi said that Iran’s national law does not recognize the dual citizenship of Iranian citizens, and thus Adelkhah is regarded as an Iranian national.

He, however, said that as an Iranian national, she enjoys full citizenship rights, adding that the Iranian Judiciary is carefully pursuing her case within the framework of the country’s fair trial law.

Adelkhah, a 60-year-old anthropologist and researcher at Sciences Po's Center for International Studies (CERI) in Paris, was arrested in Iran in June 2019 on espionage charges.