France Urges Immediate Release of Citizens Detained in Iran

France has issued a strong demand for the release of two citizens, Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, who have been held in Iran for more than three years. The French government considers the espionage charges reportedly filed against them to be baseless and unfounded.

According to France, the duo is being kept in conditions similar to torture inside Tehran's notorious Evin prison, and proper consular access has been denied to them. Reports claim Iran has accused the pair of spying for Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, although Iranian state media has not confirmed this.

The detention is part of a broader trend where Iran's Revolutionary Guards have imprisoned numerous foreign and dual nationals, allegedly on espionage charges. Rights groups and Western nations accuse Tehran of using these detainees as leverage, a claim Tehran denies. This case has further strained the already tense relations between France and Iran.

(With inputs from agencies.)