French-German cyclist Lennart Monterlos, who had been held in Iran since June 16, was released by Tehran on Sunday, October 5. According to Le Monde's sources, the 19-year-old is about to leave Iran and will be repatriated to France in the coming hours. Iran's judiciary announced on Monday morning that Monterlos had been acquitted in early October of charges of links with the intelligence services of France, Germany and Israel.

Monterlos had been arrested while cycling alone across Iran, in the midst of a conflict between Iran on one side and Israel and the United States on the other. Since the 12-day war, the Islamic Republic, hit hard by the fighting, has launched a crackdown on suspected collaborators with Israel.

In an interview with Le Monde on July 10, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused Monterlos of having "committed an offense," without providing further details about the charges against the young cyclist. His family continued to assert his innocence.

Iran is still holding a French couple: trade unionists Cécile Kohler, 41, and her partner, Jacques Paris, 72. Both had long been described by Iranian authorities as "spies" for France's General Directorate of External Security, before being charged in June with espionage for the Mossad, Israel's foreign intelligence service. Their family members vehemently reject these accusations. Another French national, who also holds Iranian citizenship and whose detention was reported by Le Monde in July without revealing the name, has since been released.

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