Iranian national Mahdieh Esfandiari freed from French prison on parole

TEHRAN – Iran’s Foreign Ministry has announced that Iranian academic Mahdieh Esfandiari, behind bars in France, has been released on parole. She spent a total 237 days in prison. 

Sarkozy behind bars: France’s elite reels as former president jailed

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, sentenced to five years in prison for criminal conspiracy in connection with illicit Libyan financing of his 2007 campaign, was incarcerated at Paris’s La Santé prison on Tuesday, Mediapart reported.

France fails to free illegally detained Iranian academic despite pledges

TEHRAN – Iran’s judiciary spokesperson, Asqar Jahangir, says the French government has failed to fulfil its promise to release Iranian academic Mahdieh Esfandiari from prison.

Political free fall: Lecornu resigns as Macron’s fifth prime minister in two years

France’s Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu resigned Monday, hours after unveiling a cabinet that kept 13 of 18 ministers from the toppled Bayrou team—ending the shortest-lived government in modern French history and sealing a record-breaking 27-day premiership.

French opposition leader urges Macron to expel Israeli envoy

Mathilde Panot, deputy leader of the France Unbowed party, has urged the French president to expel Israel’s ambassador to Paris, Joshua Zarka, following Israel’s seizure of the Global Sumud Flotilla, Al Jazeera reported. 

Over 150 lawyers, refugee NGOs in UK report being ‘pressured into silence’ by far-right protesters

More than 150 lawyers, human rights, refugee and environmental organizations have said they are being “pressured into silence” after some received rape and death threats from far-right and anti-migrant protesters, The Guardian reported. 

Iranian athletes urge UN to demand release of academic detained by France 

TEHRAN – A coalition of 165 Iranian women athletes has implored UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to intervene in the case of Mahdieh Esfandiari, an Iranian academic held in France. Detained since February for expressing solidarity with the people of Gaza, Esfandiari faces charges linked to social media posts.

Macron hits back at ‘abject’, ‘erroneous’ anti-Semitism accusations by Netanyahu

A diplomatic row between Israel and France has broken out after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused French President Emmanuel Macron of fueling “the anti-Semitic fire” in France by planning to recognize Palestinian statehood, Al Jazeera reported Wednesday.

By Bahram Moradi

US standing against global will for Palestinian state

TEHRAN – U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has shown contempt for the leaders of France, Britain, and Canada for planning to recognize the Palestinian state, calling them “clumsy”.

Iran beat Finland to secure place in 2025 FIVB Boys’ U19 World Championship semis

TEHRAN – Iran defeated Finland 3-1 (30-28, 21-25, 25-16, 25-20) on Friday to secure their place in the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Boys’ U19 World Championship semifinals.

France drives snapback threat, jeopardizing Europe’s future role on Iran

TEHRAN – France, the United Kingdom, and Germany have threatened to trigger the UN snapback mechanism against Iran by the end of August unless "substantial progress" is made in restoring the nuclear deal, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot declared on Tuesday.

New report accuses France of 'continuously' delivering military equipment to Israel

A report accuses France of "regularly and continuously" delivering military equipment to Israel since the start of its war on Gaza.

‘She is a hostage;’ Iranian academic faces solitary confinement in France for Palestine advocacy

TEHRAN – Mahdieh Esfandiari, a 39-year-old Iranian translator and academic at Lyon’s Lumiere University, has been detained in France since February 28, over social media posts supporting Palestine.

UK and France abandon plans to recognise Palestinian state

The UK and France will abandon previous plans to recognize a Palestinian state at an upcoming conference, according to diplomats.

France opens 'complicity in genocide' probes over blocked Gaza aid

French anti-terror prosecutors have opened probes into "complicity in genocide" and "incitement to genocide" after French-Israelis allegedly blocked aid intended for Gaza last year, Middle East Eye reported.

US envoy says France can ‘carve’ Palestinian state out of Riviera

Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, has lashed out at France’s advocacy for recognition of a Palestinian state ahead of a UN conference aimed at resurrecting the idea of a two-state solution.

By our staff writer

Israel Katz mocks France and Europe at large

TEHRAN - Israel Katz said on Friday that Israel will build a “Jewish Israeli state” in the occupied West Bank. He made the declaration a day after the occupation regime announced the creation of 22 new settlements in the Palestinian territory.

Macron threatens sanctions on Israelis over Gaza aid crisis

French President Emmanuel Macron has warned that his country could “apply sanctions” against Israelis unless the government in Tel Aviv responds to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Al Jazeera reported.

France says 'determined' to recognize Palestinian state

France is "determined" to recognize a Palestinian state, its foreign minister said on Tuesday, condemning Israel for the "indefensible" situation in Gaza created by its military campaign and humanitarian blockade, Al Monitor reported.

Tehran condemns EU's ‘abuse’ of JCPOA snapback, offers path to revive nuclear diplomacy

TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi issued a warning to European powers on Sunday, stating that any misuse of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)’s snapback mechanism would lead to the “end of Europe’s role in the agreement” and “irreversible tensions.”

France, Poland pledge mutual defence

France and Poland on Friday signed a new cooperation and friendship treaty with a defence clause committing the parties to mutual support in case of an attack by an aggressor, as the two NATO and EU allies strengthen ties following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, France 24 reported .

Macron to host Syria's al-Sharaa

French President Emmanuel Macron will host Syrian counterpart Ahmed al-Sharaa on Wednesday for the former terrorist leader’s first European visit, the French presidency told AFP.

Detention of Iranian citizens in France violates freedom of expression: Foreign Ministry

TEHRAN – Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned the detention of Iranian citizens in France, calling the actions a violation of freedom of expression and urging French authorities to resolve the matter promptly.