E-Paper
Iran frees 2 French nationals after 3.5 years; served jailtime on spying charges
“Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris are free and on their way to French territory, after three and a half years of detention in Iran,” Macron said.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday said two French nationals had been released from custody in Iran, and were on their way back home.
“Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris are free and on their way to French territory, after three and a half years of detention in Iran,” he said in a post on social media platform X.
Macron said this came as a “relief” to their families and to him.
He further thanked the authorities in Oman for their mediation efforts.
“Thank you to the Omani authorities for their mediation efforts, to the State services, and to the citizens who mobilized tirelessly and thus contributed to their return,” Macron said in the post.
The two French nationals had been holed up in French diplomatic premises in Iran since their release from prison, the Associated Press reported.
Also Read | European allies are losing hope of keeping America in NATO
Why were the two French nationals arrested?
Both Kohler and Paris had been held in more than three years of detention on charges of spying, which the latter denied and said were unfounded, according to the AP report.
Both were arrested in May, 2022 while visiting Iran, following which France denounced their detention as “unjustified and unfounded.”
While they had been freed by Iranian authorities in November, they were not being allowed to leave the country. French officials said they were being kept safe at the French Embassy in Tehran. France had long sought the green light for them to leave Tehran, AP reported.
What does their return signal?
In the broader sense, their return at this point of time signals how Iran is making a distinction between countries, treating some favourably and not giving others leeway.
This comes after a French-owned container ship was allowed to transit through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively blocked by Iran following the US-Israeli attacks. According Marine Traffic data analysed by news agency AFP on Friday, the Maltese-flagged Kribi belonging to the French maritime transport group CMA CGM crossed the strait to exit the Gulf on April 2.
The passage and the return of prisoners comes amid French President Macron's criticisms of US President Donald Trump. Macron had expressed frustration at Trump's shifting statements on Iran, saying that the US President cannot keep “contradicting” himself every day on Iran.
Macron further stated that he was not of the stance that a military operation was needed to “liberate” the Strait of Hormuz.
“I say sometimes because it has varied; it is never the option we have chosen, and we consider it unrealistic,” he said.
The French President had also clarified that France was not going to take part in the war against Iran, saying they had not been consulted about it. This had led to a visible deterioration in ties with the US. Trump claimed he personally requested French military assistance during the conflict in the Gulf, but said Paris declined to immediately participate.
