France Urges Iran to Free "Arbitrarily” Detained French Nationals

France's foreign minister has urged Iran to release French nationals " arbitrarily” incarcerated in Iran during a rare face-to-face meeting with her Iranian counterpart in Beijing.

Catherine Colonna, who traveled with President Emmanuel Macron on his state visit to China, met Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on April 6.

Amir-Abdollohian was leading the Iranian delegation in reconciliation talks in the Chinese capital between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Colonna “reiterated our pressing demand for the immediate release of six French nationals who are being detained arbitrarily by Iran," the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Iran's Foreign Ministry said "some consular issues” were raised during the meeting between Amir-Abdollohian and Colonna.

Western governments have repeatedly accused the Islamic Republic of taking dual and foreign nationals hostage for the sole purpose of using them in prisoner swaps or as a bargaining chip in international negotiations.

The sister of Bernard Phélan, a French-Irish national who has been incarcerated in Iran for half a year, told IranWire this week that he is in “poor” physical condition and risks losing his vision.