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Iran, France in Prisoner Swap

A member of Iranian Border Guards wears a protective face mask, following an outbreak of the new coronavirus, inside the Shalamcha Border Crossing, March 8, 2020. REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani
A member of Iranian Border Guards wears a protective face mask, following an outbreak of the new coronavirus, inside the Shalamcha Border Crossing, March 8, 2020. REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani
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Iran, France in Prisoner Swap

A member of Iranian Border Guards wears a protective face mask, following an outbreak of the new coronavirus, inside the Shalamcha Border Crossing, March 8, 2020. REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani
A member of Iranian Border Guards wears a protective face mask, following an outbreak of the new coronavirus, inside the Shalamcha Border Crossing, March 8, 2020. REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani

Iranian authorities have released French academic Roland Marchal, who has been imprisoned in Iran since June 2019, a French presidency official said on Saturday after

French President Emmanuel Macron urged Iran to also release French researcher Fariba Adelkhah, who is still imprisoned.

The official spoke after Iran's state broadcaster IRIB said on its website that Paris has released Jalal Ruhollahnejad, an Iranian engineer wanted by the US authorities over sanctions charges.

"Roland Gabriel Marchal, who was sentenced to five years' imprisonment for acting against national security ... had his sentence reduced and was released from prison today and handed over to the French embassy in Tehran," IRIB also reported.

France had demanded that Iran release Marchal, a senior researcher at Sciences Po university whose arrest was reported by Paris in mid-October.

There had been talk of an exchange being discussed, but French officials had refused to comment directly, saying only that there had been progress in recent days.

In May, a French court approved the extradition of Rouhollahnejad to the United States to face charges of attempting to illegally import US technology for military purposes on behalf of an Iranian company which US officials said was linked to the Revolutionary Guards.

France has for months also demanded that Iran release Adelkhah who like Marchal was detained in June 2019.

Adelkhah is a citizen of both Iran and France, but Tehran does not recognize dual nationality.

Rights activists have accused Iran of arresting dual nationals and foreign citizens in an attempt to win concessions from other countries.

Iran has in recent months carried out prisoner exchanges with the US, Australia and Germany.

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Türkiye Ups Border Security as Iran-Israel Conflict Rages

FILE PHOTO - Syrians wait at a checkpoint at the Syrian border crossing of Bab al-Hawa on the Syrian-Turkish border in Idlib Governorate January 21, 2015. REUTERS/Abed Kontar
FILE PHOTO - Syrians wait at a checkpoint at the Syrian border crossing of Bab al-Hawa on the Syrian-Turkish border in Idlib Governorate January 21, 2015. REUTERS/Abed Kontar
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Türkiye Ups Border Security as Iran-Israel Conflict Rages

FILE PHOTO - Syrians wait at a checkpoint at the Syrian border crossing of Bab al-Hawa on the Syrian-Turkish border in Idlib Governorate January 21, 2015. REUTERS/Abed Kontar
FILE PHOTO - Syrians wait at a checkpoint at the Syrian border crossing of Bab al-Hawa on the Syrian-Turkish border in Idlib Governorate January 21, 2015. REUTERS/Abed Kontar

Türkiye has stepped up security on its border with Iran since the start of Tehran's conflict with Israel, but has not yet seen any increase in people trying to cross the frontier, a Turkish Defense Ministry source said on Thursday.

Türkiye - a NATO member which shares a 560-km (350-mile) border with Iran - has condemned Israel's attacks on Iran, saying they violate international law.

It has also offered to help arrange a resumption of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States, according to Reuters.

"Intense security precautions have been taken via additional measures at all our borders including with Iran," the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

There were no signs of "a mass immigration wave toward Türkiye," the source added.

Türkiye already hosts millions of refugees, most of them from another neighbour, Syria, and says it cannot take any more.

On Wednesday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan condemned Israel's attacks on Iran as "state terrorism" and said Türkiye would raise its own defences to such a level that "nobody will even consider" attacking it.

Türkiye has long said it is working to build up its defences, including long-range missiles - though officials and analysts say its plan for a "Steel Dome" defense system along the lines of Israel's "Iron Dome" is years away.

Barin Kayaoglu, a professor of international relations at Ankara Social Sciences University, said that while Türkiye's air defense systems could be effective if Ankara ever faced conflict scenarios like the fighting between Iran and Israel, more units were needed.

"Türkiye needs to gain range, altitude and anti-ballistic missile capabilities," he told Reuters. Any "Steel Dome" system "probably needs another five-six years", he said.