PARIS (Reuters) – The number of French nationals detained in Iran is likely to rise by two, bringing the total to seven, France’s Foreign Minister said on Thursday.
On October 6, France accused Iran of “dictatorial practices” and of holding Iran hostage after a video appeared to show a French couple confessing to espionage.
“I am concerned about the presence of two other citizens, trying to confirm conflicting information,” Catherine Colonna said in an interview with Le Parisien newspaper.
On Friday, Le Figaro newspaper reported that two citizens had been arrested over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini before anti-government protests began in September.
The foreign ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
Relations between France and Iran have deteriorated in recent months as efforts to resume nuclear talks, in which France is one of the parties, have stalled. Neither country has an ambassador.
Protests over Amini’s death in police custody have prompted the EU to impose sanctions on Iran, joining the US, Canada and the UK.
A new round of EU sanctions on human rights will be approved at a meeting of foreign ministers on Monday, two diplomats told Reuters.
The sanctions would see 31 designations of human rights violations targeting individuals and entities covering property bans and travel freezes, they said.
France will also propose a new designation for those who sell drones to Iran and impose sanctions on those involved in exporting electronic components for drones, one of the diplomats said.
“If (Iran’s) aim is to intimidate us, this is the wrong way to deal with France,” Colonna said.
(Reporting by John Eilish; Editing by Clelia Oziel)
