France to push EU to sanction Iran over detention of French citizens

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Monday that his country would propose the European Union issue sanctions against Iranian officials responsible for the detention of French citizens in Iran.

Earlier this month, Olivier Grondeau, a French citizen detained in Iran for over two years on espionage charges revealed his identity and described his ordeal in a phone call aired on French radio as Paris stepped up efforts to gain his release.

In addition to Grondeau, two other French detainees, teachers Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, have been detained in Iran since May 2022.

Kohler and Paris have spent nearly three years in Ward 209 of Tehran’s Evin Prison, a secret detention facility notorious for harsh conditions which is operated by the country’s intelligence ministry.

Last week, the European Parliament adopted a motion for a resolution condemning Iran’s detention of European Union citizens, labelling the practice as “hostage diplomacy.”