‘Worrying disappearance’: 18-year-old French national missing in Iran; 20 Europeans under detention in country

An 18-year-old Frenchman, who additionally holds German citizenship, has gone missing in Iran throughout a biking journey that started on June 16, a French diplomatic supply was quoted as saying to information company AFP on Sunday. The missing teen has been recognized as Lennart Monterlos, based mostly on social media posts, notably from Instagram.“This disappearance is worrying. We are in contact with the family about this,” the supply stated, referring to missing particular person alerts shared on-line. However, the supply couldn’t affirm if Lennart is among the many Europeans not too long ago detained in Iran on suspicion of spying for Israel.According to the French diplomat, Iran is finishing up “a deliberate policy of taking Western hostages,” and French residents are strongly suggested to not journey to Iran.The official additionally warned that Iran is “targeting French nationals passing through the country, accusing them of espionage and detaining them in appalling conditions,” which, in some circumstances, fall under the definition of torture under worldwide regulation.Iran is believed to be holding round 20 European nationals, many in circumstances that haven’t been made public. Several Western international locations, together with France, accuse Tehran of utilizing these arrests to strain them for diplomatic concessions.Among these detained are three extra individuals, presently unidentified, who’ve additionally been arrested not too long ago. Iranian authorities declare two of them are Israeli spies, presumably linked to the current Gaza battle.Iran can be holding two French nationals, Cecile Kohler, 40, and her accomplice Jacques Paris, 72, since 2022. The Iranian authorities has accused them of spying for Israel, a cost strongly denied by French officers.French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot has demanded their “immediate, unconditional release”, and stated Iran by no means formally knowledgeable France in regards to the costs.(*20*)“We are extremely worried about their psychological state and the trauma of the bombings,” Kohler’s sister Noemie stated in an interview with BFM TV.