A portrait of the assassinated Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, hangs near the site of an overnight Israeli airstrike in the Haret Hreik neighborhood, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, on March 24, 2026. (Credit: AFP)
BEIRUT — The National Court of Asylum suspended appeals from Iranian and Lebanese asylum seekers to avoid rejecting their requests, the court said Tuesday. It awaits stabilization of the security situation in both countries.
The court, which reviews cases rejected by l'Office français de protection des réfugiés et apatrides (Ofpra), made the decision “about 10 days ago” amid ongoing Middle East events, President Thomas Andrieu said during a news conference.
European law allows protection for asylum seekers from areas afflicted by “indiscriminate violence.” Andrieu said the court must ensure that people appealing Ofpra rejections cannot obtain asylum under this new criterion.
Since the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Feb. 28, Israeli strikes have killed 1,029 people in Lebanon, according to the Health Ministry. No recent overall Iranian death toll has been published, but the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency counted at least 3,230 killed by U.S.-Israeli attacks as of March 21, including 1,406 civilians.
The CNDA, the busiest administrative court by number of hearings (5,340 in 2025), heard nearly 38,000 applicants and issued 53,086 decisions in 2025, including 10,201 in its seven newly established regional chambers. The average processing time is about five months. The average protection rate stands at 23.3 percent, mainly for Sudanese, Haitians, Ethiopians, Eritreans, Somalis and Burkinabe.
