French nationals freed from detention in Iran, returning to France, Macron says

French nationals Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris are "free and on their way to France after three and a half years of detention in Iran", President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday in a post on X, adding that Oman had mediated their release.

The couple had been held by Iran since 2022 on charges of spying, which France said were unfounded. They were released from the notorious Evin jail in November and had stayed since then at the French embassy.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said he had spoken to the couple.

"They shared with me their emotion and their joy to return soon to their country and their loved ones," he said in a social media post.

His ministry said Barrot had held discussions at the weekend with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araqchi.

Lawmakers greeted the announcement of their release with a standing ovation at the National Assembly.

The pair are among dozens of foreign and dual nationals to be held in Iran in recent years, often on espionage-related charges.

Iran's official news agency IRNA confirmed the couple's release, saying it followed an understanding between Tehran and Paris that France would in turn release Mahdieh Esfandiari, an Iranian student living in the French city of Lyon.

Esfandiari was arrested last year over anti-Israel social media posts. As part of the understanding, France would also withdraw a complaint against Iran in the International Court of Justice, IRNA reported.

The release of the French couple came as U.S. President Donald Trump threatened that "a whole civilisation will die tonight" unless Iran reaches a last-minute deal with the United States to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Last Thursday a container ship belonging to French shipping group CMA CGM passed through the Strait of Hormuz, a sign that Iran may not consider France to be a hostile nation.

-Reporting by Dominique Vidalon, Elizabeth Pineau and John Irish; Writing by Makini Brice; Editing by Charlotte Van Campenhout and Gareth Jones/Reuters