French couple did not return from holiday in Iran - union official

A diplomat based in the region confirmed the two arrested Europeans were French citizens.

 The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Vienna, Austria May 23, 2021. (photo credit: REUTERS/LEONHARD FOEGER)
The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Vienna, Austria May 23, 2021.
(photo credit: REUTERS/LEONHARD FOEGER)

A French couple has gone missing while on holiday in Iran, an official from the union one of them represents said on Thursday, a day after Iran's intelligence ministry said it had arrested two Europeans for allegedly fomenting "insecurity" there.

Christophe Lalande, federal secretary of the FNEC FP-FO education union, said he had no news from his staffer and that while there was no "absolute certainty," there was a "strong presumption" that it was her.

The couple had been on holiday in Iran, he said, adding that she had been due back in France earlier this week.

A diplomat based in the region confirmed the two arrested Europeans were French citizens.

France's foreign ministry demanded the immediate release of its citizens, and announced that the French Ambassador in Tehran is looking to ensure those two detained French citizens can get consular access.  

The Iranian representative in Paris has been summoned to the French Foreign Affairs Ministry over the issue.

The arrests coincided with a visit to Tehran by the European Union's Iran nuclear talks coordinator Enrique Mora, who held talks with his Iranian counterpart Ali Bagheri Kani, according to Iranian media.

Two other French nationals are held in Iran on national security charges their lawyers say are politically motivated.