Skip to main content

Two French nationals freed by Iran under 'Islamic clemency', Iran's foreign minister says

AL-Monitor
Nov 5, 2025
FILE PHOTO: A woman walks past posters with the portraits of Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, two French citizens held in Iran, in Paris, France, May 7, 2025. The slogan reads "Freedom for Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris". REUTERS/Abdul Saboor/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A woman walks past posters with the portraits of Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, two French citizens held in Iran, in Paris, France, May 7, 2025. The slogan reads "Freedom for Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris". REUTERS/Abdul Saboor/File Photo — Abdul Saboor

DUBAI (Reuters) -Two French citizens were freed because of "Islamic clemency" and are still in Iran, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told state media on Wednesday.

The French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday that Iran had released Cecile Kohler and her partner Jacques Paris, who were detained in Iran for over three years and were convicted of spying.

The two are currently at the French embassy in Iran, Araqchi said, adding an Iranian woman freed by Paris earlier this year is at the Iranian embassy in France.

(Reporting by Parisa Hafezi and Elwely Elwelly; Editing by Alison Williams)