Le Point: Iran Has Yet to Provide Any Reason for the Release of Louis Arnaud

The Parisian weekly Le Point reported on the process of releasing Louis Arnaud, a French citizen from the prisons of the Islamic Republic, stating that no reason for his release has been provided by the Iranian authorities. The French publication quoted Arnaud's acquaintances as saying, "Certainly, no reason has been provided, and he himself does not know anything." Louis Arnaud, a French citizen imprisoned in Iran, was sentenced to five years in prison last year on security charges and returned to Paris last Thursday after being released from prison. While the Islamic Republic has not provided a specific reason in this regard, a French diplomatic source told Le Point, "Negotiations for the release of a hostage involve very complex mechanisms that are not appropriate to comment on." Le Point noted that Arnaud's return to France was very unexpected, as it occurred during a tense period in relations between Paris and Tehran. In recent days, France has been actively working on drafting a resolution that was approved on June 5 by the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency against Iran's nuclear program. Additionally, if the Islamic Republic does not comply with its nuclear commitments, there is a possibility of the re-imposition of UN sanctions against Tehran under the 'snapback' mechanism by 2025. Le Point reported that even two recent surprising events in Tehran-Paris relations have heightened these tensions. An Iranian citizen named Bashir Bi-Azar was arrested by the French police in the city of Metz on June 3 and placed in administrative detention for deportation. This 41-year-old former head of the music department of IRIB was reportedly arrested by Tehran for posting anti-Israeli content on social media. According to Le Point, he, a father of two, had been living in France for two years on a long-term visa obtained under family reunification law. He previously lived in London, where he worked as the secretary of the Islamic Students Association, an organization controlled by Tehran. Le Point wrote that the fact that Iranian officials publicly spoke about Bi-Azar's arrest indicates his importance to the Islamic Republic. The publication added that despite his extremist activities supporting Palestine on social media, he was also under surveillance by French authorities due to his security profile. According to information from Le Point, he was considered an Iranian influence agent linked to the intelligence services of the Islamic Republic, and an expulsion order was issued for him on May 22, which was communicated to him on June 3. However, the French Ministry of the Interior did not respond to Le Point's request for further clarification on this matter. Le Point added that the second event was the inspection of the office of the Simaye Azadi television network associated with the Mojahedin-e Khalq organization on Wednesday, June 12, in the suburbs of Paris. The publication quoted Le Parisien, another French publication, stating that after this inspection, three individuals were placed in administrative detention for deportation from France. Le Point continued that the news of the inspection of this Mojahedin-e Khalq network was welcomed by Iranian officials. The publication also referred to the continued imprisonment of three other French citizens in Iran and quoted a diplomatic source stating that their release is a priority for French President Emmanuel Macron. This diplomatic source, who requested anonymity, added, "Discussions are ongoing, and we hope they will lead to their release. France has repeatedly used the term 'state hostage' regarding the imprisonment of these individuals and has summoned the Iranian ambassador in Paris on two occasions. This informed source said, "We have explicitly stated that until the hostage issue is resolved, we will not discuss any other matters.