Iran released two French citizens detained in separate instances on Friday, according to France, which urged Tehran to release four others still detained in the Islamic Republic.
Bernard Phelan, an Irish national, and Benjamin Briere were released from a prison in the northeastern city of Mashhad and are “on their way to France,” according to Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna.
There had been serious concerns about the health of both men, who had gone on hunger strikes to protest their circumstances.
The couple were among about two dozen foreigners imprisoned in Iran, who advocates describing as hostages kept as part of Tehran’s premeditated strategy to gain concessions from the West.
