Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Thursday that a deal to exchange French prisoners in Iran for an Iranian woman held in France was nearly complete. The proposed swap involves Mahdieh Esfandiari, an Iranian woman arrested in France in February on charges of promoting terrorism through social media.
"We have carried out a great deal of activity, and I can now say that we have reached the point where the exchange of the French prisoners in Iran is now approaching its final stages," Araghchi said in a televised interview, without elaborating further.
Iran has repeatedly called for her release, arguing that she has been unjustly detained. France has said it will lodge a complaint against Tehran at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over the detention of the two French citizens, Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris.
Kohler, 40, and Paris, in his 70s, were arrested on May 7, 2022, and charged with spying for Israel, Iran's arch-enemy. Their families have described their situation as increasingly desperate.
The couple are among roughly 20 Europeans currently detained in Iran, including a Franco-German teenager who was on a Europe-to-Asia cycle trip and disappeared in the country on June 16 during Iran's brief war with Israel. Araghchi also said on Thursday that enriched nuclear material remained "under the rubble" of facilities damaged during the recent war.