Two French nationals freed from Iran after 3 years on espionage charges return to Paris, amid rising tensions and diplomatic efforts involving France
PARIS: Two French nationals arrived in Paris on Wednesday after spending more than three years in an Iranian prison on espionage charges, a source familiar with the case told AFP.
Cecile Kohler, 41, and Jacques Paris, 72, arrived on a commercial flight, landing at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris shortly before 9:00 am (0700 GMT).
They were met on the tarmac by foreign ministry officials and were due to meet President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace, the source said.
The pair had been under house arrest at the French embassy in Tehran ever since being freed in November, with their fate even more uncertain after US-Israeli strikes on Iran started on February 28.
“This is a relief for all of us and, of course, for their families,” Macron said on X on Tuesday, thanking Oman for its mediation efforts.
The pair left Iran early Tuesday in a diplomatic convoy with the French ambassador and arrived in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku later in the day.
They departed after US President Donald Trump on Monday warned of widespread strikes on civilian infrastructure once a deadline he issued for the Islamic republic to reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz had expired.
Trump said on Tuesday he was suspending bombing of Iran for two weeks.
A source close to French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said that “what secured their release was the current situation.”
“If anything dramatic had happened to our compatriots, the reaction would have been fierce,” the source added.
Kohler and Paris — both teachers, although Paris is retired — were arrested in May 2022 at the end of a trip to Iran that their families say was for tourism.
At the end of a closed-door trial, an Iranian court in October sentenced them to jail on espionage charges their families say were fabricated.
The tribunal jailed Paris for 17 years and Kohler for 20 years for allegedly spying for France and Israel.
They were released the following month.
The pair were among a number of Europeans caught up in what activists and some Western governments describe as a deliberate strategy of hostage-taking by Iran to extract concessions from the West.