France Urges Its Citizens to Leave Iran Immediately

Paris: French authorities on Thursday requested its citizens to immediately leave the territory of Iran. 

The French Foreign Ministry has issued a warning to its citizens amid the release of one of its nationals who had been imprisoned in Iran for over 880 days.

Christophe Lemoine, a spokesperson for the foreign ministry, urged French citizens to refrain from traveling to Iran, emphasizing that they are at "immediate danger" of being detained without reason.

"They are in immediate danger of being arrested and detained without motive, or for the sole motive that they are French or European citizens," he said.

French Citizen Imprisoned In Iran Released

A French citizen who had been imprisoned in Iran for over 880 days has been released. French President Emmanuel Macron did not provide immediate details on the reasons behind Olivier Grondeau's release.

In a post on X, France Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot shared a picture of Grondeau and said that his release is a result of successful diplomacy executed by french authorities.

“This release is a credit to French diplomacy and the hard work of our embassy in Tehran, the crisis and support center, and the services of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, whom I congratulate for their perseverance,” he said.

He also mentioned that France is working on the release of other hostages from Iran.

“We will tirelessly continue our efforts to ensure that all our compatriots still held hostage, including Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, are in turn released,” Barrot said.

Meanwhile, one more French citizen was also released after getting imprisoned in Tehran.  He was under house arrest for more than four months in Tehran.