Iran has released two French nationals imprisoned there for more than three years, French president Emmanuel Macron said.
Cécile Kohler, 41 and her partner Jacques Paris, 72, were released from the Prison of Evin, on Tuesday on Tuesday they are “safe” in the embassy in Tehran “ahead of their final release”.
“I welcome this first step. The dialogue continues to allow their return to France as soon as possible,” Macron said.
The pair, who were arrested in May 2022 on a tourist trip, are believed to be the last French nationals to be held in Iran.
Last month, they were found guilty of spying for France and Israel, and before given long prison terms, According to Iranian state reports in Iran.
Many Europeans have been held in Iran in recent years. France has accused Iran of hosting state hostages and keeping its nationals in conditions akin to torture, something Tehran denies.
In a statement to the AFP News Agency on Tuesday, Pair’s legal team said the release of Kohler and Paris “ends their unjustified detention of 1,277 days”. AFP said that their families forced them to be completely innocent.
Their shipment comes more than a month after Iran’s Foreign Minister Araghari said that an agreement on the exploitation of French women is almost complete. Iran said Kohler and Paris could be released as part of that deal.
Mahdiehi Esfandii, held in France since February on charges of promoting terrorism on social media, was released by French authorities last month.