Overview
- French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed Cécile Kohler, 41, and Jacques Paris, 72, were freed from Evin prison and are safe at the French Embassy in Tehran.
- Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the pair were released on bail and will stay under supervision until the next stage of judicial proceedings.
- Macron pressed Iran’s leadership by phone to allow their full release and return to France, after speaking with the couple via videoconference.
- Iranian outlets reported in October that a Revolutionary Court issued preliminary verdicts totaling 20 years for Kohler and 17 years for Paris after a closed-door trial.
- Reporting in France and Iran links the timing to Iranian national Mahdieh Esfandiari’s conditional release in Paris, and France earlier dropped an ICJ case as diplomacy continued.