Overview
- President Emmanuel Macron called the move a first step and said discussions are ongoing to secure their prompt return to France.
- Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris are safe at the embassy, with a doctor and a ministry official sent from Paris to assist.
- Iranian spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the pair were freed on bail and will remain under supervision until the next judicial stage.
- Kohler and Paris were arrested in May 2022, with France denouncing their detention as arbitrary and rights groups condemning a televised confession as coerced.
- The release follows recent diplomatic signals, including France’s discontinuance of an ICJ case and the conditional release in France of Iranian national Mahdieh Esfandiari that Tehran had tied to a potential swap.