France asks citizens to avoid Iran until French ‘hostages’ released

France on Tuesday urged its citizens to avoid traveling to Iran until French nationals held there have been released.

“The situation of our compatriots held hostage in Iran is quite simply unacceptable. They have been unjustly detained for several years, in unworthy conditions,” Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said, urging French nationals not to go to Iran until “our hostages” have been freed.

According to French authorities, three French nationals are held in Iran.

Cecile Kohler and her partner Jacques Paris have been jailed in Iran since May 2022 on charges of espionage, a capital offense in the Islamic Republic.

Another French citizen, identified only by his first name, Olivier, has been in jail since October 2022. French authorities have not released details of his case.

Barrot said Paris had not forgotten about them “for a single second.”

Since the election of President Masoud Pezeshkian and “despite our efforts to engage at the highest level, their situation has deteriorated,” Barrot added.

“I say to the Iranian authorities: our hostages must be released,” he said, adding that “bilateral relations and the future of the sanctions” were at stake.

“And until our hostages have been completely released, I ask our compatriots not to travel to Iran.”

Iran, which does not recognize dual citizenship, holds several Europeans in detention, most of them also Iranian.

Rights groups describe them as “hostages” used as leverage in negotiations.

In December, Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, reported to be 29, was arrested in Tehran.

Iran said it arrested Sala for “violating the law,” a move decried by Italy as “unacceptable.”