عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

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
TT
20
TT

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.

Most Viewed

 
World

Trump Signs Order Requiring Citizenship Proof in Federal Elections 

US President Donald Trump responds to questions from the news media during a meeting with ambassador nominees in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 25 March 2025. (EPA)
US President Donald Trump responds to questions from the news media during a meeting with ambassador nominees in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 25 March 2025. (EPA)
TT
20
TT

Trump Signs Order Requiring Citizenship Proof in Federal Elections 

US President Donald Trump responds to questions from the news media during a meeting with ambassador nominees in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 25 March 2025. (EPA)
US President Donald Trump responds to questions from the news media during a meeting with ambassador nominees in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 25 March 2025. (EPA)

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered tighter controls on federal elections, including requiring proof of citizenship when registering to vote, as the Republican continues to attack a system he insists remains tilted against him.

Experts swiftly denounced his executive order as an abuse of presidential power that could ultimately prevent millions of Americans from casting ballots, and rights groups already have vowed to challenge it in court.

Trump, now in his second term, has never acknowledged his defeat to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election, and he maintains baseless claims of massive election fraud -- particularly in absentee voting, a method which has become widely used across the United States.

"Perhaps some people think I shouldn't be complaining, because we won in a landslide" last November, Trump said as he signed the executive order in the White House.

"But we've got to straighten out our election. This country is so sick because of the election, the fake elections," he said. "And we're going to straighten it out, one way or the other."

The new rules will require proof of citizenship to be presented -- through documents such as a passport -- when registering to vote in one's state of residence. US states that fail to comply with the directive could see cuts to their federal election funding.

According to the executive order, the attorney general would be empowered to "take all necessary action... against States that violate these provisions by including absentee or mail-in ballots received after Election Day in the final tabulation of votes."

Several states allow absentee ballots to be counted if they arrive after Election Day, provided they are postmarked before the polls close in their state.

For law professor Richard Hasen of the University of California, Los Angeles, this "dangerous" executive order could "potentially disenfranchise millions of voters."

On his Election Law blog, Hasen calls Trump's directive "an executive power grab," and notes that federal elections are largely the responsibility of the states, with Congress setting rules for the conduct of elections.

The Brennan Center, a nonprofit public policy institute, denounced the executive order, posting on X that it "would block tens of millions of American citizens from voting. Presidents have no authority to do this."

The powerful civil liberties group ACLU also slammed the order as "an extreme abuse of power" and suggested legal challenges would be filed. "We'll see him in court," it said.

Voting in US federal elections by non-citizens has been a criminal offense for decades, with the law threatening fines, imprisonment and deportation.