France Releases Two Citizens After Three Years Detention in Iran

French nationals Cecile Kohler, 41, and Jacques Paris, 72, departed Iran on Tuesday after more than three years of detention on espionage charges that France called baseless. The pair were arrested during a tourist trip in May 2022, held in Tehran's Evin prison, and sentenced in October to 20 and 17 years respectively for allegedly spying for France and Israel. After being freed to house arrest at the French embassy in November, they left Iran in a diplomatic convoy to Azerbaijan. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi indicated the release was part of a near-complete deal exchanging the French detainees for Iranian citizen Mahdieh Esfandiari, who was convicted in France for glorifying terrorism, though France did not confirm the prisoner exchange arrangement.

Release and detention of French couple in Iran

• ▪France said the espionage charges against Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris were baseless
• ▪Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris were arrested in Iran during a tourist trip in May 2022 on spying charges
• ▪Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris left Iran at dawn Tuesday in a diplomatic convoy with the French ambassador and travelled to Azerbaijan
• ▪Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris spent more than three years in Iranian detention
• ▪An Iranian court sentenced Jacques Paris to 17 years and Cecile Kohler to 20 years in October 2025 for allegedly spying for France and Israel
• ▪Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris were held in Tehran's Evin prison
• ▪Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris were freed from prison in November and placed under house arrest at the French embassy in Tehran

Prisoner exchange arrangement with France

• ▪The French government did not confirm the existence of a prisoner exchange arrangement with Iran
• ▪Iranian authorities said Mahdieh Esfandiari had been held unjustly since her arrest in France in February 2025
• ▪Iranian state news agency IRNA reported that the release of Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris was part of an agreement between France and Iran that included the full release of Mahdieh Esfandiari
• ▪Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said a deal to exchange French detainees for an Iranian woman named Mahdieh Esfandiari was nearly complete
• ▪Mahdieh Esfandiari's house arrest in France ended as a result of Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris being allowed to leave Iran
• ▪Mahdieh Esfandiari was convicted in February 2026 for glorifying terrorism in social media posts
• ▪Emmanuel Macron thanked Oman for their mediation efforts in the release of Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris

Regional context of Middle East conflict

• ▪Iran launched attacks on Israel and US-allied states in the Gulf in response to US and Israeli strikes
• ▪The US and Israel launched wide-ranging strikes on Iran in late February

Perspective of Iran

• ▪Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi framed the negotiations as a deal to exchange French detainees for Iranian citizen Mahdieh Esfandiari

Perspective of Oman

• ▪Oman played a mediation role in facilitating the release of Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris from Iranian detention