French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday threatened serious "retaliatory measures" against Iran if it continued with new charges against the French couple held in the country over accusations of espionage favouring the Israeli regime.
The two French citizens were held in Tehran in May 2022, and the charges have been pressed after the recent Iran-Israel war that ended with both sides agreeing to a Qatar, Saudi, and US-backed ceasefire. Cecile Kohler, 40, and Jacques Paris, her 72-year-old partner, however, deny the charges, saying they went to Iran as tourists.
While Tehran has not confirmed the charges, especially espionage for Israel's intelligence agency Mossad, as well as "corruption of Earth" and "plotting to overthrow the regime." However, if proven accurate, both French citizens would be executed under Iranian law. Meanwhile, the French diplomatic sources have called the allegations baseless, with the French president calling for fresh indictments a "provocative posturing towards France."
"We won't wait to answer," he said, adding that he would soon speak to his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian. However, Macron did not spell out exactly what "retaliatory measures" his country could take against Iran.
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This comes after the French president expressed support and offered to defend Israel in case a full-scale war broke out between the two; the Iranian top diplomats at that time described the statement as “unreasonable and provocative.” The case has put both nations at odds against each other, as French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot said France may consider sanctions on Iran if the pair is not released.
Iran on Wednesday officially suspended its cooperation with the United Nations nuclear watchdog over its complacency in criticising the US strikes on Iran.
Iran has over 20 foreign nationals in its captivity, the majority of whom are Europeans. Iran's internal security wing and intelligence agencies swung into action after many attacks were launched from within the country during the 12-day war.
The country is said to have arrested some 87 foreigners, the majority of whom were allegedly spying for Israel, it is interesting to note that all of those agents were not Israeli nationals, according to Iranian media.
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