TEHRAN – Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said on Sunday that the French Foreign Ministry’s statement about Iranian national Fariba Adelkhah is a “meddlesome action”.

“The French Foreign Ministry’s statement about an Iranian national was a meddlesome action and we consider France’s demand legally baseless,” Mousavi said.

The French Foreign Ministry issued a statement on December 27 saying, “The ambassador of Iran was summoned to the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs today by the deputy secretary-general. He was reminded of France’s demand that our compatriots Fariba Adelkhah and Roland Marchal be promptly released and that the Iranian authorities demonstrate total transparency on their situation. As President Macron and the foreign minister have repeatedly emphasized, their imprisonment is unacceptable.”

Iran does not recognize dual nationality.

Mousavi said that the detained Iranian national has been charged with espionage and her lawyer is informed about details of the case and the Judiciary is studying the case.

Adelkhah, a 60-year-old anthropologist and researcher at Sciences Po's Center for International Studies (CERI) in Paris, was reportedly arrested in June on charges of espionage.

In October, France’s Foreign Ministry demanded Iran release Adelkhah.

In a statement, Mousavi said that France’s call for the release is an example of interference.

He said France’s interference in the case was irrelevant and added that “this will not only fail to help resolve the issue but rather make the legal process more complicated.”

Noting that Iran does not recognize dual nationality, Mousavi said, “Mrs. Adelkhah is an Iranian national and enjoys all the citizenship rights of Iranian nationals.” 

NA/PA