Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, October 21, 2025
From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, October 21, 2025
Iranian woman held in France for anti-Israel posts set for prisoner swap, says Iranian diplomat
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Portraits of French national Cecile Kohler (L) currently imprisoned in Iran with her partner French national Jacques Paris (C) along with a placard reading "Freedom for Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris arbitrarily detained in Iran for over two years in appalling conditions" outside the Palais Bourbon, France's National Assembly, in Paris, on March 25, 2025. (Bertrand GUAY / AFP)
An Iranian student detained in France has been readied for a prisoner swap, an Iranian diplomat tells semi-official Tasnim news agency.
“The foreign minister announced that Mrs. Esfandyari was placed in the exchange channel and we have put together a political and consular package that both countries must implement,” the deputy for Consular Affairs at Iran’s foreign ministry says.
Cecile Kohler and her partner Jacques Paris, both French citizens, have been detained in Iran since 2022.
Iran has accused France of arbitrarily detaining Mahdieh Esfandiari, an Iranian student living in the French city of Lyon who was arrested this year over anti-Israel social media posts.
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