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Frenchman Held by Iran 'Tourist Caught in Trap', Says Sister

An undated picture of French national Benjamin Briere, who was arrested in Iran in 2020, obtained from the Twitter account of lawyer Saeid Dehghan. (AFP)
An undated picture of French national Benjamin Briere, who was arrested in Iran in 2020, obtained from the Twitter account of lawyer Saeid Dehghan. (AFP)
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Frenchman Held by Iran 'Tourist Caught in Trap', Says Sister

An undated picture of French national Benjamin Briere, who was arrested in Iran in 2020, obtained from the Twitter account of lawyer Saeid Dehghan. (AFP)
An undated picture of French national Benjamin Briere, who was arrested in Iran in 2020, obtained from the Twitter account of lawyer Saeid Dehghan. (AFP)

A Frenchman held in Iran for over a year is an innocent tourist caught in a trap that has nothing to do with him, his sister said on Monday, after it emerged he faces trial on charges of espionage.

Benjamin Briere, born in 1985, was arrested in Iran in May last year, allegedly while flying a drone and taking photographs in a prohibited area.

His Iranian lawyer said Sunday prosecutors have confirmed that he will be tried for espionage as well as "propaganda against the system". A conviction of espionage is punishable by death in Iran.

"We are completely in shock. Now we see such serious accusations emerge against him, it takes on a proportion that we cannot control and it is terrifying," Briere's sister Blandine Briere told AFP.

"We believe the game is somewhere else but what it is about it completely beyond us. He has been caught in a trap.

"Benjamin is not a spy, he is an ordinary French citizen, a tourist who found himself caught in an unreal case."

Over a dozen Western nationals are being held in Iran in what activists denounce as a strategy of hostage-taking aimed at extracting concessions from the West.

Iran insists that all are subject to a fair legal process by an independent judiciary. But it has always expressed readiness for swaps for Iranians held in the West.

Most of those held in Iran are dual nationals also holding Iranian passports. Briere is the only detainee currently held in Iran whose detention has been publicly confirmed to hold only a foreign passport.

The French foreign ministry said on Sunday the spying charges against Briere, who is being held in the city of Mashhad in northeastern Iran, were "incomprehensible".

His family insist he is no more than a passionate traveler who set out in 2018 on a long-term road trip in his camper van that began in Scandinavia before heading overland towards Iran

'Not moving'
Blandine Briere said she had managed to talk four times over the last year with her brother, the last such discussion on May 23.

"He is doing as well as could be expected," she said.

"They are 13 people in a dormitory, without any privacy. He is learning Persian and works on leather crafts, so he does not give up even if he understands what a mess this is," she said.

"He has been through several interrogations but was not mistreated, that's what he tells us," she added.

He is allowed consular visits and last week Blandine Briere wrote to President Emmanuel Macron asking him to resolve the issue.

"We are angry, we have no visibility. We carefully kept silent for months -- as we had been asked -- but it is no longer possible, as we are not moving forwards," she added.

Iran is also holding French-Iranian academic Fariba Adelkhah who was detained in June 2019 and in May 2020 sentenced to five years in prison on national security charges. In October, she was moved to house arrest.

Fellow French academic Roland Marchal, who was detained with her, was released in March 2020 in an apparent prisoner swap.

Marchal was freed after France released Iranian engineer Jallal Rohollahnejad, who faced extradition to the United States over accusations he violated US sanctions against Iran.

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World

US Intelligence Indicates Putin's War Aims in Ukraine are Unchanged

TOPSHOT - Russia's President Vladimir Putin gestures as he speaks during his annual end-of-year press conference, in Moscow, on December 19, 2025. (Photo by Alexander NEMENOV / AFP)
TOPSHOT - Russia's President Vladimir Putin gestures as he speaks during his annual end-of-year press conference, in Moscow, on December 19, 2025. (Photo by Alexander NEMENOV / AFP)
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US Intelligence Indicates Putin's War Aims in Ukraine are Unchanged

TOPSHOT - Russia's President Vladimir Putin gestures as he speaks during his annual end-of-year press conference, in Moscow, on December 19, 2025. (Photo by Alexander NEMENOV / AFP)
TOPSHOT - Russia's President Vladimir Putin gestures as he speaks during his annual end-of-year press conference, in Moscow, on December 19, 2025. (Photo by Alexander NEMENOV / AFP)

US intelligence reports continue to warn that Russian President Vladimir Putin has not abandoned his aims of capturing all of Ukraine and reclaiming parts of Europe that belonged to the former Soviet empire, six sources familiar with US intelligence said, even as negotiators seek an end to the war that would leave Russia with far less territory.
The reports present a starkly different picture from that painted by US President Donald Trump and his Ukraine peace negotiators, who have said Putin wants to end the conflict. The most recent of the reports dates from late September, according to one of the sources.
The intelligence also contradicts the Russian leader’s denials that he is a threat to Europe.
The US findings have been consistent since Putin launched his full-scale invasion in 2022. They largely align with the views of European leaders and spy agencies that he covets all of Ukraine and territories of former Soviet bloc states, including members of the NATO alliance, according to the sources.
"The intelligence has always been that Putin wants more," Mike Quigley, a Democratic member of the House Intelligence Committee, said in a Reuters ‌interview. "The Europeans are convinced ‌of it. The Poles are absolutely convinced of it. The Baltics think they're first.”
Russia controls about 20% ‌of ⁠Ukraine’s territory, including the bulk ‌of Luhansk and Donetsk, the provinces that comprise the industrial heartland of the Donbas, parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson provinces and Crimea, the strategic Black Sea peninsula.
Putin claims Crimea and all four provinces as belonging to Russia. Trump is pressuring Kyiv to withdraw its forces from the small part of Donetsk they control as part of a proposed peace deal, according to two sources familiar with the matter, a demand that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and most Ukrainians reject.
“The president’s team has made tremendous progress with respect to ending the war" and Trump has stated that a peace deal "is closer than ever before," said a White House official without addressing the intelligence reports.
In an X post on Saturday, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said intelligence officers have briefed lawmakers that "Russia seeks to avoid a larger war with Europe" and that its ⁠troops' performance in Ukraine shows it currently lacks the capacity to overrun "all of Ukraine, let alone Europe."
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the CIA and the Russian embassy did not immediately respond ‌to requests for comment.
PROGRESS ON SECURITY GUARANTEES
Trump’s negotiators - his son-in-law Jared Kushner and billionaire real estate developer ‍Steve Witkoff - have for weeks been negotiating the 20-point peace plan with ‍Ukrainian, Russian and European officials.
While US officials say they have made progress, major differences remain on the issues of territory.
Kushner and Witkoff were meeting on ‍Friday with Ukrainian negotiators in Miami and were to hold talks with Russian representatives this weekend, said a White House official.
US, Ukrainian and European negotiators reached a broad consensus on Monday in talks in Berlin on what four European diplomats and the two sources familiar with the matter said are robust US-backed guarantees of Ukraine’s security against future Russian aggression.
One source and a diplomat said that those guarantees hinge on Zelenskiy agreeing to cede territory to Russia. But other diplomats said that was not the case and alternatives were still being examined as Zelenskiy has ruled out ceding territory.
The diplomats said the guarantees, which would take effect after the signing of a peace agreement, call for the deployment of a mostly European security force in neighboring countries and in Ukraine away from the ⁠front lines to aid in repulsing any future Russian attack.
Ukraine's military would be capped at 800,000, said the source. But several diplomats said Russia seeks a lower cap to which the Americans are open.
The US would provide intelligence and other support, and the package would be ratified by the US Senate, they said. According to two sources familiar with the talks, Washington's plan would also include US-backed air patrols over Ukraine.
Zelenskiy on Thursday appeared cautious on the proposals, saying "There's a question I still can't get an answer to: What will these security guarantees actually do?"
And it is deeply uncertain whether Putin will agree to such guarantees as he has repeatedly rejected the deployment of foreign troops in Ukraine.
RUSSIA STILL PUSHING TERRITORIAL DEMANDS
Putin on Friday offered no compromises, although he told an annual news conference that he was ready to discuss peace.
He said his terms would have to be met as his forces have advanced 6,000 square km (2,300 square miles) this year.
It is unclear how US officials have responded to Putin's demands. Witkoff has previously suggested that Russia has a right to claim the four provinces and Crimea.
Some Trump administration officials have acknowledged that Putin may be unwilling to settle for less than his initial goal of conquering Ukraine.
"I don't know if Putin wants to do a deal or Putin wants to take ‌the whole country. These are things that he has said openly," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday at a press conference.
"We know what they wanted to achieve initially when the war began. They haven't achieved those objectives."

World

US Again Seizes Oil Tanker Off Coast of Venezuela

US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed Washington had seized a second crude oil tanker in international waters off the coast of Venezuela. Handout / US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem's X account/AFP
US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed Washington had seized a second crude oil tanker in international waters off the coast of Venezuela. Handout / US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem's X account/AFP
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US Again Seizes Oil Tanker Off Coast of Venezuela

US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed Washington had seized a second crude oil tanker in international waters off the coast of Venezuela. Handout / US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem's X account/AFP
US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed Washington had seized a second crude oil tanker in international waters off the coast of Venezuela. Handout / US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem's X account/AFP

The United States "apprehended" an oil tanker off Venezuela on Saturday, a move Caracas deemed a "theft and kidnapping," in the latest salvo of a pressure campaign by Washington, the US government said.

It was the second time in two weeks that US forces have interdicted a tanker in the region, and comes days after President Donald Trump announced a blockade of "sanctioned oil vessels" heading to and leaving Venezuela.

"In a pre-dawn action early this morning on Dec. 20, the US Coast Guard with the support of the Department of War apprehended an oil tanker that was last docked in Venezuela," US Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem said in a post on X.

The post was accompanied by a nearly eight-minute video of aerial footage that showed a helicopter hovering just above the deck of a large tanker at sea.

Caracas slammed the seizure as theft and kidnapping, saying "those responsible for these serious events will answer to justice and to history for their criminal conduct."

A post from Homeland Security identified the vessel as the Centuries and said it was "suspected of carrying oil subject to US sanctions."

Centuries is a Chinese-owned, Panama-flagged oil tanker, according to TankerTrackers, an online service monitoring oil shipments and storage.

It said that Centuries loaded 1.8 million barrels of crude oil at a Venezuelan port earlier this month before being escorted out of Venezuela's exclusive economic zone on December 18. The VesselFinder database also listed the ship's last recorded location as off the Venezuelan coast.

An AFP review found that Centuries does not appear on the US Treasury Department's list of sanctioned companies and individuals.

White House deputy spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a post on X the tanker "contained sanctioned PDVSA oil," in reference to Venezuela's state oil company, and charged the ship as being "a falsely flagged vessel operating as part of the Venezuelan shadow fleet."

'Waging a battle against lies'

On December 10, US forces seized a large oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, which the attorney general said was involved in carrying sanctioned oil from Venezuela to Iran.

The United States has for months been building a major military deployment in the Caribbean with the stated goal of combatting Latin American drug trafficking, but taking particular aim at Venezuela.

Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez voiced defiance in comments at a public event in Caracas broadcast Saturday on state TV -- although he made no mention of the interdicted ship.

"We are waging a battle against lies, manipulation, interference, military threats, and psychological warfare," the defense minister said, adding "that will not intimidate us."

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil also said Iran, one of Caracas's largest international allies, was offering support "in all areas" to combat "piracy and international terrorism" by the United States.

There are currently 11 US warships in the Caribbean: the world's largest aircraft carrier, an amphibious assault ship, two amphibious transport dock ships, two cruisers and five destroyers.

Caracas views the operation as a campaign to push out leftist strongman Nicolas Maduro -- whom Washington and many nations view as an illegitimate president -- and to "steal" Venezuelan oil.

The US military has also conducted a series of air strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean since September. Critics have questioned the legality of the attacks, which have killed more than 100 people.

The ship interception occurred as South American leaders gathered for a summit of the Mercosur bloc, where tensions over suspended member Venezuela overshadowed discussions of a future trade deal with the European Union.

At the gathering, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva clashed with his Argentinian counterpart Javier Milei, arguing that an outbreak armed conflict over Venezuela could cause a "humanitarian catastrophe."

Milei, a Trump ally, countered by saying Argentina "welcomes the pressure from the United States and Donald Trump to free the Venezuelan people."

World

Thai Border Clashes Displace over Half a Million in Cambodia

A village security volunteer splashes water to control a fire at a house after what a Thai soldier said was a Cambodian artillery strike in the area in Sisaket province, Thailand, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
A village security volunteer splashes water to control a fire at a house after what a Thai soldier said was a Cambodian artillery strike in the area in Sisaket province, Thailand, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
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Thai Border Clashes Displace over Half a Million in Cambodia

A village security volunteer splashes water to control a fire at a house after what a Thai soldier said was a Cambodian artillery strike in the area in Sisaket province, Thailand, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
A village security volunteer splashes water to control a fire at a house after what a Thai soldier said was a Cambodian artillery strike in the area in Sisaket province, Thailand, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

More than half a million people in Cambodia have been displaced from their homes by two weeks of deadly border clashes with neighboring Thailand, Phnom Penh's interior ministry said Sunday.

The renewed fighting between the Southeast Asian neighbors this month, including with tanks, drones and artillery, has killed at least 22 people in Thailand and 19 in Cambodia, according to officials.

The conflict stems from a territorial dispute over the colonial-era demarcation of their 800-kilometer (500-mile) border and a smattering of ancient temple ruins situated on the frontier.

"At present, more than half a million Cambodian people, including women and children, are suffering severe hardship due to forced displacement from their homes and schools to escape artillery shells, rockets, and aerial bombardments carried out by Thailand's F-16 aircraft," Cambodia's interior ministry said in a statement, giving the total number of people evacuated as 518,611.

Around 400,000 people have been displaced in Thailand due to the reignited border conflict, Bangkok has said.

Each side has blamed the other for instigating the fresh fighting and traded accusations of attacks on civilians, after five days of clashes in July killed dozens, AFP said.

The United States, China and Malaysia brokered a truce to end that round of fighting, but the ceasefire was short-lived.

Border temple clashes

In October, US President Donald Trump backed a follow-on joint declaration between Thailand and Cambodia, touting new trade deals after they agreed in Kuala Lumpur to prolong their truce.

But Thailand suspended the agreement the following month, after Thai soldiers were wounded by landmines while on patrol at the border.

Bangkok has accused Cambodia of laying fresh mines, an allegation denied by Phnom Penh.

Trump, who has placed the conflict between Cambodia and Thailand on a list of wars he said he solved, this month claimed the two countries had agreed to a new ceasefire.

But Bangkok denied any truce had been agreed, and fighting has continued daily since a border skirmish on December 7 sparked the latest clashes.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday that Washington was hoping Cambodia and Thailand would reach a new ceasefire by Monday or Tuesday.

Foreign ministers of ASEAN nations, including Cambodia and Thailand, are set to meet on Monday in Kuala Lumpur for talks aimed at finding a diplomatic solution.

China sent its special envoy for Asian affairs to Cambodia and Thailand last week, with Beijing aiming to "rebuild peace".

Cambodia's foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday that the Chinese envoy, Deng Xijun, met with Prime Minister Hun Manet in Phnom Penh the day before, urging a truce.

Cambodia, which is outgunned and outspent by Bangkok's military, said Sunday that Thai forces had continued to attack since dawn, with fighting occurring on the border near the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple.

A patch of contested land next to the UNESCO-listed heritage site was the site of military clashes in 2008, and sporadic violence for several years led to the deaths of two dozen people.

A UN court ruling in Phnom Penh's favor in 2013 settled the matter for more than a decade, but this year's crisis erupted in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a new clash.