'Suicide bomber' who threatened to blow up Iranian embassy in Paris is arrested and found NOT to have any explosives after surrendering to police

A man has surrendered to police are reportedly threatening to blow himself up at the Iranian consulate in Paris with a suicide vest.

The man gave himself up soon after 2pm, walking out of the consulate with his hands in the air and giving himself over to police at the scene.

'He had no explosives or weapons on him,' said a security source. 'He was placed under arrest immediately and taken away to a secure police station for questioning.'

Specialist BRI officers continued to swarm around the area, together with sniffer dogs, just in case explosives had been hidden in the area.

'The security perimeter will be maintained for a while yet,' said the source.

The individual was for a time holed up inside the building in the French capital's 16th arrondissement in a room with the ambassador, one report said.

A man has surrendered to police are reportedly threatening to blow himself up at the Iranian consulate in Paris with a suicide vest. The man gave himself up soon after 2pm, walking out of the consulate with his hands in the air and giving himself over to police at the scene

Police are seen at the scene of the Iranian consulate in Paris

He was said to be wearing an explosive belt and equipped with an object that resembled a grenade, Europe 1 and other sources reported earlier.

The area was cordoned off and evacuated, with a police source saying that an 'intervention was imminent'.

This suggested officers had been preparing to storm the building.

'A witness saw a man enter carrying a grenade or an explosive belt,' a source told France's AFP news agency, adding that an elite police unit had been mobilised after the consulate requested an intervention. 

'The man presented him at the consulate, and then removed his coat, to show off an alleged explosives vest,' another security source said at the scene.

'He said he was carrying a grenade, and then placed a national flag on the floor. He said he wanted to avenge his brother.'

Police ordered the city's Metro Line 6 to be interrupted as a safety measure.

Europe 1 reported that the embassy contacted the police requesting assistance, reporting that the man was inside the building. It said he was holed up in a room inside the consulate 'in the presence of the ambassador'.

There were no reports of an explosion.

The incident came amid increasing tensions between Israel and Iran, with the Jewish state today launching strikes against the Islamic Republic.

This was in response to Iran launching over 300 missiles towards Israel on Saturday, 99 percent of which were intercepted by Israel and its allies.

Armed, camo-wearing  police are seen at the scene in Paris on Friday

French police and members of French special police forces of Research and Intervention Brigade (BRI) secure the area near Iran consulate where a man is threatening to blow himself up, in Paris, France, April 19, 2024

French police secure the area near Iran consulate where a man is threatening to blow himself up, in Paris, France, April 19, 2024

Iran's weekend attack was in-turn believed to have been in response to an April 1 suspected Israeli air strike which levelled Tehran's consular annex in Damascus and killed seven Revolutionary Guards members, including two generals.

The tit-for-tat attacks have ramped up tensions in the volatile region, increasing fears that the Middle East could descend into a full-blown conflict.

It was not clear whether the incident in Paris was related to the on-going crisis. 

This is a breaking news story. More to follow...