French-German Teen Lennart Monterlos Released from Iranian Detention
Monterlos returns to Paris after months in Iran amid espionage accusations, highlighting ongoing diplomatic tensions
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — Franco-German teenager Lennart Monterlos returned to France on Thursday after being freed from detention in Iran, sources close to the case confirmed. Monterlos, 19, had been held in Iran for several months on espionage allegations.
Monterlos was arrested on June 16 in Bandar Abbas, in southern Iran, during the brief conflict between Iran and Israel. The young sports and travel enthusiast had been cycling alone on a journey from Europe to Asia when he was detained.
Iran’s judiciary announced on Monday that the espionage charges against Monterlos would be dropped. He had been released over the weekend and was staying at the French embassy in Tehran while awaiting permission to leave the country.
Monterlos arrived discreetly in Paris at approximately 9:20 a.m. (0720 GMT) Thursday at Charles de Gaulle Airport.
French President Emmanuel Macron expressed “relief” following the announcement of Monterlos’s release. He is the latest French national to be freed from Iranian detention this year, although others remain in custody.
The release occurs amid ongoing diplomatic negotiations between France and Iran. Tehran has indicated that it hopes a French couple detained in Tehran since May 2022 and an Iranian national held in France could be released soon.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told reporters that the release of these individuals was “being reviewed by the relevant authorities” and expressed hope that it would happen once procedures were completed.
The French couple, Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, are accused by Iran of spying for Israel, while Mahdieh Esfandiari, an Iranian woman arrested in France in February, faces charges of promoting terrorism via social media.
Tehran has described Esfandiari’s detention as arbitrary, while France has challenged Iran’s accusations against its citizens, previously taking the matter to the International Court of Justice.
Negotiations for a potential prisoner swap have reportedly advanced following discussions with Iran’s top diplomat, Abbas Araghchi.
Monterlos’s acquittal by the Revolutionary Court, reported by the judiciary’s Mizan Online, cited “legal principles and doubts about the crime,” although the prosecutor retains the right to appeal.
The case underscores the delicate intersection of diplomacy, security, and human rights, particularly as Iran increasingly links foreign detentions to espionage amid heightened regional tensions.
European governments continue to monitor the treatment of their citizens in Iran, with prisoner swaps and diplomatic negotiations providing occasional relief, even as broader geopolitical tensions persist across the Middle East.
