Headlines
France drops World Court case against Iran over detained citizens
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on September 25, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Global Banking and Finance Review
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Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on September 25, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
France has withdrawn its World Court case against Iran regarding the detention of two French citizens, amid ongoing diplomatic efforts.
THE HAGUE (Reuters) -France has dropped its case before the International Court of Justice against Iran for violating the right to consular protection of two French citizens who have been held in detention for over three years, the court said Thursday.
France has repeatedly accused Iran of holding Cecile Kohler and her partner Jacques Paris arbitrarily, keeping them in conditions akin to torture in Tehran's Evin prison and not allowing proper consular protection. Iran denies the accusations.
The court's announcement gave no reason why Paris dropped the case and France's foreign ministry could not immediately be reached for comment.
The case at the ICJ or World Court was widely seen as a bid to pressure Iran over the detention of its citizens. Iran has accused the pair of spying for Israel's Mossad intelligence service.
French President Emmanuel Macron met Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday at the United Nations General Assembly.
“I once again emphasized our clear demand: Cécile Kohler, Jacques Paris, and Lennart Guttenberg, state hostages who have been arbitrarily detained in Iran under inhumane conditions, must be immediately released. France will not abandon any of its children,” he said on X after the meeting.
Pezeshkian said on X the two had discussed trying to resolve the issue.
(Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg, additional reporting by John Irish in Paris; Editing by Aidan Lewis)
The court's announcement did not provide a reason for France dropping the case, and the foreign ministry could not be reached for comment.
Iran accused Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris of spying for Israel's Mossad intelligence service.
France has accused Iran of holding the citizens in conditions akin to torture in Tehran's Evin prison and not allowing proper consular access.
French President Emmanuel Macron met Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian and emphasized the need for the immediate release of the detained citizens.
The case at the ICJ was widely seen as a bid to pressure Iran regarding the detention of its citizens, highlighting the diplomatic tensions between the two countries.
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