Iran's leadership released two Frenchmen, Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, detained in 2022 on suspicion of espionage, in exchange for France withdrawing its lawsuit from the International Court of Justice. The IRNA agency reported this with reference to sources.
French citizens detained in the Islamic Republic in May 2022. Iranian intelligence suspects they are trying to organize unrest during teachers' protests demanding higher salaries. It should be noted that the compensation claim to the International Court of Justice filed by France was allegedly for failure to provide consular protection.
According to the agency, as part of the agreement, Paris also released Iranian interpreter and professor at Lumiere Lyon 2 University Mahdiyeh Esfandiari, who was detained in 2025 for allegedly justifying terrorism.
On March 15, Iranian law enforcement arrested at least 500 people on suspicion of collaborating with the enemy. According to Iran's police chief Reza Radan, those arrested passed information to enemies and anti-Iranian media. He clarified that 250 of them transmitted attack coordinates to the enemy, maintained contact with foreign military personnel and tried to disrupt public order.
