Iran's state TV airs 'confessions' by 2 French nationals amid protests

TEHRAN, Iran

Iranian state TV television on Thursday broadcast a video showing two French nationals detained by Iranian security forces for alleged involvement in recent protests in the country.

The video shows them apparently confessing to working for the French intelligence agency to "foment unrest" in Iran over the death last month of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody.

Amini died after being detained by Iran's morality police for an alleged violation of the dress code. The cause of her death remains shrouded in mystery, and the official probe has yet to be concluded.

Major Iranian cities, including the capital Tehran, have been rocked by angry demonstrations in recent weeks and pitched battles between protesters and policemen.

The government has not given an official casualty toll from the ongoing protests, but international human rights watchdogs have put the death toll at more than 100.

The video posted by state media shows French nationals Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, both of whom are associated with France’s National Federation of Education, Culture, and Vocational Training.

Kohler, wearing a headscarf, introduces herself as an "operative" for the French spy agency aiming to "put pressure on Iran's government" to bring about regime change.

According to Iranian media, the short clip is part of a documentary that will be aired on state TV in the coming days to support claims made by top Iranian authorities in recent days of a "foreign hand" in the ongoing protests.

Reacting to the video, the French Foreign Ministry on Thursday described the confession as “shameful, revolting, and unacceptable."

“Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris have been arbitrarily detained in Iran since May 2022, and as such are state hostages ... the staging of their supposed confessions is shameful, revolting, unacceptable and contrary to international law,” said a ministry statement.

Meanwhile, the European Union is reportedly mulling sanctions on Iran in the coming weeks, the bloc's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Thursday, without providing further details.

In a phone call with Borrell on Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian warned against any "hasty political action" by the European Union, saying Tehran will give an appropriate response.

Also on Wednesday, the top Iranian diplomat spoke to his Italian counterpart Luigi Di Maio, warning against what he called "hasty and ill-considered" action by the European bloc against Iran.

Last week, Iran’s Intelligence Ministry said that it had arrested nine foreign nationals from Germany, Poland, Italy, France, the Netherlands, and Sweden, among others, for alleged involvement in recent protests.

Many foreign envoys in Tehran have also been summoned in recent weeks over support for protesters.

On Wednesday, the British envoy was summoned for the second time in two weeks. Last week, the French charge d'affaires was also summoned to protest France’s "interference in Iran's domestic affairs.”