00:00We start with the good news coming from Tehran, confirmed here in Paris.
00:03The two French citizens, held in an Iranian prison since May 2022, are now free.
00:10Cecile Colla and Jacques Paris were on holiday in Iran when they were arrested and accused of spying for Israel.
00:17This accusation was dismissed as fantasy by the French government and by their family.
00:21Let's bring in Saeed Azimi. He is our correspondent in Tehran to get more on this from the Iranian perspective on this one.
00:28Saeed, thanks for being with us. We've had confirmation, obviously, from the French side that these two French citizens are free.
00:36What can you tell us from the Iranian side of this story?
00:40Well, Mark, first of all, let's begin by congratulating you and everyone who's watching on the release of Cecile and Jacques from Evin Prison.
00:48I have reached out to the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman for a comment because, as President Emmanuel Macron posted on X, this is the first step.
00:57They are in the French embassy as we are speaking, and they have not returned to Paris yet.
01:02And I sought to the foreign ministry spokesperson to see if their return to Paris would coincide with Mathias Van Yari,
01:11the Iranian woman who is temporarily out of jail in Paris, to Tehran,
01:18because the Iranian foreign ministry had said that it will do what it can to bring Mathias Van Yari home to Iran.
01:25So political analysts and experts since an hour ago are speculating whether this could be an exchange.
01:34Cecile and Jacques could return to Paris at the same time that Mathias Van Yari comes home.
01:38We have not received a comment from the Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson yet.
01:42OK, so you await confirmation officially from the Iranian government.
01:48What is the sense there?
01:49I wonder about sort of do people in Iran know of these two French citizens or is this just another story that perhaps doesn't get reported?
01:59It does get reported.
02:00The media, state media, have reported the release and quoting President Emmanuel Macron as the main source.
02:07Of course, of course, we never had any info from Tehran.
02:10We never had any statements.
02:11We just had the post on X from President Macron.
02:15But I don't think the Iranians right now care that much.
02:19It hurts me to say, it pains me to say that they're very much engaged with political and domestic politics
02:27and the troubling economy and putting food on the table that they couldn't care less right now about the release of two French from the Iranian prison.
02:38I'm sorry.
02:39No, no, no.
02:39Hearing what you say completely there, Saeed, on that issue, because when you have mouths to feed, of course,
02:43that is a far more pressing thing to take care of.
02:47Our correspondent there in Tehran, Saeed, thank you very much indeed for being with us.
02:51Saeed Azimi there with the latest on the story.
02:53We're watching for developments, of course, both sides of this particular tale.
02:59And, of course, just confirming, according to the French foreign ministry and confirmed via our correspondent in Tehran,
03:05that Sessi Akola and Ja'Paris are in the first stage of their journey back from Iran to France.
03:13We'll find out.
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