TEHRAN, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Monday that Tehran summoned the French ambassador to Tehran to protest "interference in Iran's internal affairs" as two French diplomats were briefly detained earlier this month.

The diplomats were reportedly detained on July 19 in Tehran, accused of engaging in actions violating the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations by interfering in internal matters under the guise of civil society engagement.

"Yesterday, the French ambassador in Tehran was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where it was stressed that the French government must cease such actions and such interference in Iran's internal affairs under misleading labels," Baghaei said in a weekly press briefing, adding that the diplomats had carried out activities "that were in no way justified."