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Jailed French Tourist to Appear in Iran Court on Thursday on Spying Charges

A woman holds a photo of Benjamin Briere during a rally in Paris, France, on January 8, 2022. (AP)
A woman holds a photo of Benjamin Briere during a rally in Paris, France, on January 8, 2022. (AP)
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Jailed French Tourist to Appear in Iran Court on Thursday on Spying Charges

A woman holds a photo of Benjamin Briere during a rally in Paris, France, on January 8, 2022. (AP)
A woman holds a photo of Benjamin Briere during a rally in Paris, France, on January 8, 2022. (AP)

A jailed French tourist in Iran, Benjamin Briere, will appear before a Revolutionary Court on Thursday on spying charges, his Iranian lawyer told Reuters on Wednesday.

"Benjamin will attend the court to be tried for spying and acting against national security charges," one of his lawyers Saeid Dehghan said.

Briere has been held since May 2020, when he was arrested after flying a helicam - a remote-controlled mini helicopter used to obtain aerial or motion images - in the desert near the Turkmenistan-Iran border. He was charged with espionage and propaganda against Iran.

His trial comes as the United States and parties to Iran's 2015 nuclear deal including France are trying to restore the pact, which was abandoned in 2018 by then-US president Donald Trump.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have arrested dozens of dual nationals and foreigners in recent years, mostly on espionage charges.

Rights activists have accused Iran of arresting dual citizens and foreigners to try to win concessions from other countries. Tehran denies holding people for political reasons.

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Russia’s Medvedev Warns the US: Avoid World War Three

Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council and leader of the United Russia party Dmitry Medvedev speaks during a meeting of the United Russia party's programme commission via videoconference at the Gorki state residence outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. (Ekaterina Shtukina, Sputnik Pool Photo via AP)
Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council and leader of the United Russia party Dmitry Medvedev speaks during a meeting of the United Russia party's programme commission via videoconference at the Gorki state residence outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. (Ekaterina Shtukina, Sputnik Pool Photo via AP)
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Russia’s Medvedev Warns the US: Avoid World War Three

Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council and leader of the United Russia party Dmitry Medvedev speaks during a meeting of the United Russia party's programme commission via videoconference at the Gorki state residence outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. (Ekaterina Shtukina, Sputnik Pool Photo via AP)
Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council and leader of the United Russia party Dmitry Medvedev speaks during a meeting of the United Russia party's programme commission via videoconference at the Gorki state residence outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. (Ekaterina Shtukina, Sputnik Pool Photo via AP)

Dmitry Medvedev, a senior Russian security official who served as Russia's president from 2008 to 2012, warned the United States on Saturday to take Russia's nuclear warnings seriously to avoid World War Three.

Medvedev, who serves as deputy chairman of Russia's powerful security council, told RT broadcaster that top US officials did not want World War Three but for some reason they believe "that the Russians will never cross a certain line."

"They are wrong," Medvedev told RT, adding that Moscow believed the current US and European political establishments lacked the "foresight and subtlety of mind" displayed by the late Henry Kissinger.

"If we are talking about the existence of our state, as the president of our country has repeatedly said, your humble servant has said, others have said, of course, we simply will not have any choice," Medvedev said.

The 2-1/2-year-old war in Ukraine is entering what Russian officials say is its most dangerous phase as Russian forces are advancing in eastern Ukraine and the West considers how to shore up Ukraine.

Russia has been signaling for weeks to the West that Moscow will respond if the United States and its allies help Ukraine fire longer-range missiles deep into Russia, while NATO says that North Korea has sent troops to western Russia.

Russian officials say the leaders of the West have failed to heed the signals Moscow has sent over European security and the escalation of the war in Ukraine.

US diplomats say the relationship with Russia is worse than at any time since the depths of the Cold War but that Washington does not seek to escalate the war in Ukraine.