Former detainees in prisoner swap return to France, Iran
Two former detainees released in a prisoner swap between France and Iran have returned to their home countries after each having spent months in confinement.
French researcher Roland Marchal arrived in Paris on March 21, with his support group releasing a short statement saying, "Roland has returned."
Meanwhile, Iranian engineer Jallal Rohollahnejad, who is wanted in the United States, arrived in Tehran to an emotional meeting with his family.
The two were both released a day earlier in what Mizan Online, the news site of the Iranian judiciary, called “an act of mutual cooperation.”
The detentions had complicated ties between the two countries during a period when French President Emmanuel Macron sought to defuse tensions between Washington and Tehran, and while Iran has sought France's help to mitigate the economic damages caused by U.S. financial sanctions.
A relative told AFP that Marchal was taken to a military hospital near Paris for medical tests and that the "analyses were good."
Macron had announced that Tehran released Marchal after France freed Rohollahnejad instead of sending him to the United States, where he is suspected of being involved in an attempt to export sensitive industrial equipment to Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions.