Tehran, Iran – The French Foreign Minister refused to comment on statements made by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi regarding a prisoner exchange between France and Iran.
Araqchi announced that a deal to exchange French nationals imprisoned in Iran for an Iranian woman imprisoned in France is approaching its “final stage”.
Outgoing French Minister Jean-Noël Barrow said on Friday: “We demand the unconditional release of our citizens detained in Iran”.
He added to France Inter radio that he would not comment on his Iranian counterpart’s statements regarding a possible citizen exchange agreement.
potential deal
This came after Araqchi explained, on Thursday, that a prisoner exchange deal with the French side was approaching its “final stage”.
“I can now say that we have reached the point where the French prisoner exchange agreement in Iran is approaching its final stage,” he said in a television interview.
لكنه لم يعطِ المزيد من التفاصيل.
The proposed exchange includes Mahdia Esfandiari, an Iranian who was arrested in France in February on charges of promoting terrorism on social media.
Iran has repeatedly demanded her release, claiming that she was unjustly detained
Last May, Paris filed a lawsuit against Tehran before the International Court of Justice.
The reason for this is the detention of two French citizens, Cecil Kohler and Jacques Paris, whom France considers “state hostages”.
It is noteworthy that Cecil Kohler (40 years old) and Jacques Paris (72 years old) were arrested on May 7, 2022, on charges of spying for Israel.
Their families described their current situation as increasingly desperate.
