On Tuesday, France issued a warning to its citizens not to visit Iran until French nationals detained there were freed.
“The situation of our compatriots held hostage in Iran is quite simply unacceptable. They have been unjustly detained for several years, in unworthy conditions,” Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said, urging French nationals not to go to Iran until “our hostages” have been freed.
Three French citizens are detained in Iran, according to French authorities.
Since May 2022, Cecile Kohler and her partner Jacques Paris have been imprisoned in Iran on suspicion of spying, which is punishable by death in the Islamic state.
Since October 2022, another French national, Olivier, who is only known by his first name, has been incarcerated. Information on his case has not been made public by French authorities.
According to Barrot, they had not been forgotten “for a single second” in Paris.
Since the election of President Masoud Pezeshkian and “despite our efforts to engage at the highest level, their situation has deteriorated”, Barrot added.
“I say to the Iranian authorities: our hostages must be released,” he said, adding that “bilateral relations and the future of the sanctions” were at stake.
“And until our hostages have been completely released, I ask our compatriots not to travel to Iran.”
Iran, which does not accept dual citizenship, detains a number of Europeans, the majority of whom are Iranian.
They are referred to by rights organizations as “hostages” who are exploited as bargaining chips.
Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, who was reportedly 29 years old, was arrested in Tehran in December.
Iran claimed to have arrested Sala for “violating the law,” a decision that Italy criticized as “unacceptable.”
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