Two French nationals have been handed lengthy prison sentences by a court in Iran after being convicted of espionage, according to Iranian state media reports.
The reports do not name the defendants, but they are believed to be Cecile Kohler, 40, and her partner Jacques Paris, 72, the only French nationals currently being held in Iran. They were arrested in May 2022 during a tourist trip.
The pair were found guilty of spying on behalf of both France and Israel, as indicated by the reports.
This announcement is significant following declarations made by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who stated that an agreement to exchange detained French citizens for an Iranian woman in France was nearing completion.
Iran has previously mentioned that Kohler and Paris could be part of that exchange agreement.
Another French tourist, Olivier Grondeau, 34, was released by Iran earlier this year after receiving a five-year prison sentence for conspiracy against the Islamic republic.
Iran's judicial news agency Mizan highlighted that one defendant was sentenced to six years in prison for espionage related to France, five years for conspiracy against national security, and 20 years in exile for intelligence cooperation with Israel. The other was sentenced to ten years for espionage for France, alongside similar conspiracy and exile sentences.
In Iranian law, these sentences tend to run concurrently. The nature of the exile remains ambiguous, though similar cases have seen convicts relocated to remote areas.
Mizan's updates suggest that the pre-trial detention period will be accounted for in their sentences and that the verdict could be appealed within 20 days.
France has accused Iran of holding Kohler and Paris arbitrarily and subjecting them to conditions equatable to torture, which Iran denies.
Human rights organizations claim that tourists and dual nationals are frequently held as leverage during diplomatic negotiations, often released only in exchange for concessions from other governments.
The release of British-Iranian nationals Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori in 2022 followed months of negotiations that included settling a long-standing debt owed by the UK of nearly £400 million dating back to the 1970s.
Kohler and Paris are believed to be part of a scheme where they could be exchanged for Mahdieh Esfandiari, who has been held in France since February on allegations of promoting terrorism on social media.
Current estimates suggest that Iran is detaining about 20 Europeans, including British couple Craig and Lindsay Foreman, who were arrested during a motorcycle tour in January and subsequently charged with espionage.
Their family insists they are innocent and that they are enduring horrific conditions in Iranian custody.
Most recently, 18-year-old French-German cyclist Lennart Monterlos was freed after an Iranian court acquitted him of espionage charges.
