TEHRAN – Iran’s Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday that it had released two French nationals who had been detained on charges related to national security.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Bacaei said the individuals were released on bail “by order of the presiding judge” and would remain under judicial supervision until the next stage of the legal process.
French President Emmanuel Macron later confirmed the development and identified the two men as Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, who were detained in Iran on suspicion of espionage. In a post on Twitter, President Macron said the couple was “on their way to the French embassy in Tehran” and described the move as a “first step”, saying negotiations were underway to bring them back to France as soon as possible.
The development comes amid ongoing diplomatic talks between Tehran and Paris over the case of Iranian scholar and translator Mahdiye Esfandiari, who was illegally arrested in France for his pro-Palestinian online activities.
On October 21, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Vahid Jalalzadeh said that Esfandiari’s case was included in a political and consular package proposed by Tehran to facilitate her release. He noted that Esfandiari was detained in France “without any legitimate reason” and stressed that her arrest was a human rights violation and reflected Western double standards regarding freedom of expression.
Esfandiari, a 39-year-old university lecturer living in Lyon, was arrested by French police for posting on a Telegram channel condemning the Israeli regime’s crimes in Gaza. According to reports, France appears to have detained her to facilitate the release of the two spies.
On October 22, Bakuayi announced that Esfandiari had been granted conditional release, explaining that he would be transferred from prison to supervised housing pending the conclusion of his trial. He welcomed the move by the French judiciary and expressed hope that the process would lead to her complete exoneration.
A Foreign Ministry spokesperson reiterated that Esfandiari’s arrest was “arbitrary and politically motivated” and stressed that the Islamic Republic continues to pursue her case through diplomatic and legal channels.