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'Exhausted' Frenchman Held in Iran since 2022 Reveals Identity

A person holds a placard which reads as '2 years of wasted life in Iranian prisons, it's enough'. Kiran RIDLEY, Kiran RIDLEY / AFP
A person holds a placard which reads as '2 years of wasted life in Iranian prisons, it's enough'. Kiran RIDLEY, Kiran RIDLEY / AFP
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'Exhausted' Frenchman Held in Iran since 2022 Reveals Identity

A person holds a placard which reads as '2 years of wasted life in Iranian prisons, it's enough'. Kiran RIDLEY, Kiran RIDLEY / AFP
A person holds a placard which reads as '2 years of wasted life in Iranian prisons, it's enough'. Kiran RIDLEY, Kiran RIDLEY / AFP

A Frenchman held in Iran since October 2022 on Monday revealed his identity in an audio message broadcast on a French radio station, saying he was becoming increasingly exhausted over his ordeal.
Olivier Grondeau, 34, had previously only been identified by his first name and French authorities had not released details of his case.
In an audio message aired on France Inter on Monday, Grondeau fully identified himself and warned that he and the other two French detainees held in Iran were "exhausted", AFP reported.
The other two French nationals currently held in Iran are teacher Cecile Kohler and her partner, Jacques Paris, who were detained in May 2022. They are accused of seeking to stir up labor protests, accusations their families have vehemently denied.
"You, who have the power to influence this matter, hear this truth," he said in the audio message, apparently addressing the French authorities.
"Cecile's strength, Jacques' strength, Olivier's strength -- it is all running out," he said. "Your responsibility is called upon to ensure the survival of three human beings," he said.
Grondeau was arrested in Shiraz, in southern Iran, in October 2022, and sentenced to five years in prison for "conspiracy against Iran”, his mother Therese Grondeau told France Inter.
His family rejects the charges, describing Grondeau as a passionate fan of Persian poetry who was travelling to Iran on a tourist visa as part of a world tour.
On Friday, France summoned the Iranian ambassador to protest Tehran's holding of the trio, describing them as "state hostages".
Their "situation is intolerable, with undignified detention conditions that, for some, constitute torture under international law", the French foreign ministry said.
The tensions have come after an Italian journalist, Cecilia Sala, arrested and jailed in Iran since December, was freed and returned to Rome earlier this month.
Her swift release -- in contrast to the prolonged detention of the French nationals -- was the result of "intense work through diplomatic and intelligence channels" by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government, her office said.
Foreign ministries whose nationals have been held by Iran are known to sometimes advise families to keep a low profile and not announce the arrest of their loved ones publicly, in the hope the situation can be resolved behind the scenes.

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Iran, European Countries Hold ‘Frank, Constructive’ Talks to Break Nuclear Stalemate

Majid Takht-Ravanchi briefs Iran’s National Security Committee on the results of the second round of dialogue with the European countries early last month. (Iranian parliament)
Majid Takht-Ravanchi briefs Iran’s National Security Committee on the results of the second round of dialogue with the European countries early last month. (Iranian parliament)
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Iran, European Countries Hold ‘Frank, Constructive’ Talks to Break Nuclear Stalemate

Majid Takht-Ravanchi briefs Iran’s National Security Committee on the results of the second round of dialogue with the European countries early last month. (Iranian parliament)
Majid Takht-Ravanchi briefs Iran’s National Security Committee on the results of the second round of dialogue with the European countries early last month. (Iranian parliament)

Talks between Iran and European powers in Geneva regarding Tehran's disputed nuclear program were serious, frank and constructive, high level Iranian diplomats said, just a week before US President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

European Union diplomat Enrique Mora said he held a “constructive meeting” with Iranian deputy foreign ministers Kazem Gharibabadi and Majid Takht-Ravanchi in Geneva on “exploring ways for a diplomatic solution to the nuclear issue.”

For his part, Gharibabadi posted on X that he and Takht-Ravanchi held open and constructive discussions with Mora and his team.

“We exchanged views mainly on nuclear and sanctions lifting as well as other issues of mutual interest,” he wrote.

“We also addressed Europe’s support for Israeli crimes in Gaza,” Gharibabadi said.

The Iranian delegation and the three European powers, Britain, France and Germany, known as the E3, met in Geneva on Monday.

“Against a challenging context, we discussed concerns and reiterated our commitment to a diplomatic solution. We agreed to continue our dialogue,” they said in a statement posted on their X accounts.

Before the meeting with the Iranian delegation, the German foreign ministry told AFP that the talks were “not negotiations” while Iran said they were merely “consultations.”

Iran's ISNA news agency reported that the two Iranian diplomats and their counterparts from the E3 “discussed issues of mutual interest, including negotiations for lifting sanctions, the nuclear issue and the worrying situation in the region.”

It was the second round of such talks between Iran and the E3 in less than two months, following a discreet meeting in Geneva last November.

At that time, an Iranian official told Reuters that finalizing a roadmap with Europeans would “put the ball in the US court to revive or kill the nuclear deal.”

On Monday, Gharibabadi said in a post on X, “We discussed ideas involving certain details in the sanctions-lifting and nuclear fields that are needed for a deal.”

“Sides concurred that negotiations should be resumed and to reach a deal, all parties should create and maintain the appropriate atmosphere. We agreed to continue our dialogue,” he added.

Officials in Tehran fear that Trump will revive his maximum pressure strategy that sought to wreck Iran's economy to force the country to negotiate a deal on its nuclear program, ballistic missile program and regional activities.

In 2018, the US, led by then-President Trump, exited Iran's 2015 nuclear pact with six major powers and reimposed harsh sanctions on Iran.

That prompted Tehran to violate the pact's nuclear limits by rebuilding stockpiles of enriched uranium, refining it to higher fissile purity and installing advanced centrifuges to speed up output.

Indirect talks between US President Joe Biden’s administration and Tehran to try to revive the pact have failed.

Trump has vowed to return to the policy he pursued in his previous term.

Last December, a top Iranian diplomat warned Tehran would withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty after the E3 informed the UN Security Council their readiness to use all diplomatic tools to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, including using snapback.

The snapback mechanism - part of the 2015 deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) - allows signatories to reimpose United Nations sanctions on Iran in cases of the “significant non-performance” of commitments.