French President Emmanuel Macron has called on his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, to release two French nationals, Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, who have been “held hostage by the Iranian regime for over three years.”
Macron also urged Pezeshkian to return swiftly to the negotiating table to reach an agreement over Iran’s nuclear programme amid rising tensions between Iran and Israel.
He stated this in a series of posts via his X account on Saturday evening.
“I have just spoken with Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian,” he wrote.
“My first message was to demand the immediate release of our compatriots, Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, who have been held hostages by the Iranian regime in unacceptable conditions for over three years. In light of the serious risk of destabilization across the region, I called for our diplomatic facilities and nationals in Iran and the wider region not to be targeted under any circumstances.
“I therefore invited President Pezeshkian to return swiftly to the negotiating table to reach an agreement — the only viable path to de-escalation.
“We stand ready to contribute and to mobilize all our efforts to achieve that goal.”
This comes after Iran launched missile strikes targeting different parts of Israel on Friday and Saturday.
Photos posted online revealed houses destroyed and several others with partial damage.
Israel’s national EMS later said it was treating and evacuating twenty-one persons after a rocket strike in the country’s coastal plain.
The Israeli military has carried out dozens of airstrikes on Iran in recent weeks.
