Iran minister says French-German teenage cyclist is under arrest

Iran has detained a Franco-German national on a Europe-to-Asia cycle trip who disappeared in the country on June 16, Iran's foreign minister told Le Monde newspaper on Thursday.

The French foreign ministry, which has accused Iran of pursuing a deliberate policy of detaining foreigners to use as bargaining chips, had previously expressed concern over the fate of Lennart Monterlos.

France and a number of other countries have urged their nationals not to go to Iran because of the risk of detention.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Le Monde that an "official notification" about Monterlos had been sent to the French embassy in Tehran.

He said Monterlos "has been arrested for committing an offence".

French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou urged Iran to not "persecute the innocent who are sometimes unaware of the risks they face" in an interview with broadcaster LCI.

The French foreign ministry told AFP it was in contact with Iranian authorities about the case and was also speaking with the teenager's family.

Two other French nationals, academics Cecile Kohler, 40, and Jacques Paris, 72, are being held on charges of spying for Israel and could face the death penalty. They were detained on May 7, 2022 on the final day of a holiday in Iran.

French President Emmanuel Macron had last week threatened Iran with "retaliation measures" if the pair were not released.

Relations between Paris and Tehran have been tense, with Iran accusing the West of not doing enough to condemn Israel's recent strikes.

Along with other European countries, France suspects Iran of taking Western citizens hostage to barter their freedom for concessions, notably on its nuclear plans and the lifting of economic sanctions on the Islamic republic.

The EU countries have hinted it could reimpose the sanctions mechanism planned in the 2015 deal on Tehran's atomic programme.

"The threat of sanctions does not help diplomacy," Araghchi said, urging France, Germany and the United Kingdom to play "a constructive role" in the talks.

Iran is believed to have about 20 Europeans in detention.