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French Citizen Olivier Grondeau Freed after Imprisonment in Iran, Macron Says

A demonstrator holds a photograph of Olivier Grondeau at a Paris gathering in support of French nationals jailed in Iran, February 1, 2025. Sebastien Dupuy, AFP
A demonstrator holds a photograph of Olivier Grondeau at a Paris gathering in support of French nationals jailed in Iran, February 1, 2025. Sebastien Dupuy, AFP
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French Citizen Olivier Grondeau Freed after Imprisonment in Iran, Macron Says

A demonstrator holds a photograph of Olivier Grondeau at a Paris gathering in support of French nationals jailed in Iran, February 1, 2025. Sebastien Dupuy, AFP
A demonstrator holds a photograph of Olivier Grondeau at a Paris gathering in support of French nationals jailed in Iran, February 1, 2025. Sebastien Dupuy, AFP

A French citizen imprisoned in Iran for over 880 days has been freed, French officials said Thursday.

The release of Olivier Grondeau comes as France and the rest of Europe try to pursue negotiations with Iran over its rapidly advancing nuclear program.

US President Donald Trump meanwhile has sent his own letter to Iran's 85-year-old Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to jumpstart talks. Trump is also pressuring Tehran over its support of Yemen's Houthi extremists as the American military has launched an intense new campaign of airstrikes targeting the group.

French President Emmanuel Macron wrote online that Grondeau had been freed. He offered no immediate details of what led to Grondeau’s release, though it came on Nowruz, the Persian New Year, when Iran has released prisoners in the past.

Jean-Noël Barrot, France's minister for Europe and foreign affairs, posted a picture online of Grondeau smiling aboard what appeared to be a private jet. On his lap appeared to be a picture of the pop star Britney Spears, something the official did not acknowledge in welcoming Grondeau's release.

“We will tirelessly continue our efforts to ensure that all our compatriots still held hostage, including Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, are in turn released,” Barrot wrote.

Macron also raised the case of the other two French nationals held in Iran.

“Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris must be freed from Iranian jails,” he wrote. “My thoughts are with them and their families today.”

The Iranian government did not immediately acknowledge Grondeau’s release. Such releases of Westerners in Iran typically come in exchange for something. Early this week, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said that France had arrested an Iranian women who supported Palestinians, but said Tehran was still trying to gather more details about her case.

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World

Ukraine Broaches ‘Stolen’ Russian Grain Cargo on Call with Israel

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha speaks during a briefing marking Ukrainian Defense Industry Day in Kyiv, on April 13, 2026, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha speaks during a briefing marking Ukrainian Defense Industry Day in Kyiv, on April 13, 2026, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
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Ukraine Broaches ‘Stolen’ Russian Grain Cargo on Call with Israel

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha speaks during a briefing marking Ukrainian Defense Industry Day in Kyiv, on April 13, 2026, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha speaks during a briefing marking Ukrainian Defense Industry Day in Kyiv, on April 13, 2026, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)

Ukrainian Foreign ‌Minister Andrii Sybiha held a call with his Israeli counterpart Gideon Sa'ar to discuss a Russian vessel carrying what he described as grain stolen from Ukraine that was allowed to dock in an Israeli port.

Kyiv considers all grain produced in the four regions Russia claimed as its own since ‌invading Ukraine in ‌2022, and Crimea, annexed by ‌Russia ⁠in 2014, to ⁠have been stolen by Moscow.

"I stressed that the illegal export of stolen Ukrainian agricultural products is part of Russia's broader war effort," Sybiha said late on Tuesday in a ⁠post on X. "Such illegal trade with ‌stolen goods ‌must not be allowed."

Russia refers to the ‌four regions as its "new territories", but ‌they are still internationally recognized as Ukrainian.

Sybiha said in March that Russia moved more than 2 million tons of stolen ‌Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea last year. Ukrainian official estimated ⁠in ⁠August that Russia has stolen 15 million tons of Ukrainian grain since the start of the full-scale war.

The foreign minister added that the two also talked about security matters and the situation in the Middle East.

"We reaffirmed our mutual interest in advancing the bilateral agenda and maintaining an active dialogue, including on security-related matters," he said.

World

Russia Pledges Further Oil Supplies to Cuba After Dispatching Crude Cargo

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov walks for a meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China April 15, 2026. (EPA/Iori Sagisawa / Pool)
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov walks for a meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China April 15, 2026. (EPA/Iori Sagisawa / Pool)
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Russia Pledges Further Oil Supplies to Cuba After Dispatching Crude Cargo

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov walks for a meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China April 15, 2026. (EPA/Iori Sagisawa / Pool)
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov walks for a meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China April 15, 2026. (EPA/Iori Sagisawa / Pool)

Russia will continue helping fuel-hungry Cuba with crucial supplies of oil, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday, two weeks after Moscow sent a tanker with around 700,000 barrels of crude to the Caribbean island.

Washington stopped oil exports to Cuba ‌from its ‌main ally Venezuela after capturing Venezuelan ‌President ⁠Nicolas Maduro on January 3, ⁠triggering acute fuel shortages across the communist-ruled island of almost 11 million people.

President Donald Trump has threatened punishing tariffs on countries sending crude to Cuba as he seeks to put pressure on the government. The US later allowed the Russian oil delivery to ⁠Cuba, this year's first by Moscow, ‌for humanitarian reasons.

Another major ‌supplier, Mexico, halted its shipments.

Lavrov, on a visit to ‌China, said Russia will provide humanitarian aid to Cuba, ‌its long-standing ally.

"We have dispatched the first tanker with 100,000 tons (700,000 barrels) of oil for Cuba. Of course, this will probably last for a couple of months - ‌I'm not a specialist," he told a briefing at the end of the ⁠two-day visit.

"But ⁠I have no doubt that we will continue providing such assistance, and that (China) will, of course, continue to take part in this cooperation as well," added Lavrov, without referring to the issue of US permission or not for future deliveries.

Cuba produces less than a third of the oil it requires. Though it cleared the recent Russian delivery, the Trump administration said it would review further oil shipments to Cuba on a "case-by-case" basis.

Lavrov said he hoped the US will not return to times of "colonial wars."

World

Female Iranian Student Arrives in Iran After Release in France

Iranian national Mahdieh Esfandiari arrives for her trial on charges of promoting terrorism on social media at a Paris courthouse on January 13, 2026. (AFP)
Iranian national Mahdieh Esfandiari arrives for her trial on charges of promoting terrorism on social media at a Paris courthouse on January 13, 2026. (AFP)
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Female Iranian Student Arrives in Iran After Release in France

Iranian national Mahdieh Esfandiari arrives for her trial on charges of promoting terrorism on social media at a Paris courthouse on January 13, 2026. (AFP)
Iranian national Mahdieh Esfandiari arrives for her trial on charges of promoting terrorism on social media at a Paris courthouse on January 13, 2026. (AFP)

Iranian student Mahdieh Esfandiari arrived in Iran after being released in France, Iranian state TV reported on Wednesday, after ‌two French ‌nationals facing security ‌charges ⁠were allowed to ⁠leave Iran following three-and-a-half years in detention.

Esfandiari, who was convicted at the end ⁠of February for glorifying ‌terrorism ‌in anti-Israel social ‌media posts, was released ‌after serving almost a year in prison.

"I think it's ‌clear for everyone that there is ⁠no ⁠freedom of speech, at least not in France where I was. The court's ruling was very unjust," Esfandiari told state television.