Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Asharq Al-Awsat
Asharq Al-Awsat
World
London, Tehran - Asharq Al-Awsat

New French Envoy Demands Release of Citizens in Talks with Iran's President

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi speaks during a parliament meeting in Tehran, Iran, on January 22, 2023. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

France's new envoy to Iran told President Ebrahim Raisi that Tehran had to immediately release seven French nationals detained in the country, the foreign ministry said after the envoy handed his credentials to the Iranian leader this week.

Nicolas Roche was pictured this week in a local media meeting Raisi with the state news agency IRNA saying that the Iranian president had criticized France's Islamophobia and that Roche had been mandated to lift misunderstandings in relations.

Ties between France and Iran have deteriorated in recent months with Tehran detaining seven French nationals in what Paris has said are arbitrary arrests that are equivalent to state hostage-taking.

Describing the policy as "reprehensible", Deputy foreign ministry spokesman Francois Delmas said that by continuing to hold its citizens, Iran's relations with France and Europe could only worsen.

He said the new ambassador had made it clear to Raisi that the French citizens should be released immediately and that the conditions they were being held in were unacceptable.

Paris is particularly concerned by the condition of Franco-Irish citizen Bernard Phelan and French citizen Benjamin Briere, who last week began a hunger strike, according to a statement from the family.

Delmas said Paris was holding Tehran responsible for their health and demanded that Phelan be provided urgent medical care, which he was still being denied.

In recent years, Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards have arrested dozens of dual nationals and foreigners, mostly on charges related to espionage and security.

groups have accused Iran of trying to extract concessions from other countries through such arrests. Iran, which does not recognize dual nationality, denies taking prisoners to gain diplomatic leverage.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.