France concerned over citizen missing in Iran, minister says
FILE PHOTO: France's Delegate Minister for Foreign Trade and French Nationals Abroad Laurent Saint-Martin listens to the speech of France's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot, after a meeting with European partners to suggest a negotiated solution to end the conflict between Iran and Israel at the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (Quai d'Orsay) in Paris, France June 19, 2025. JULIEN DE ROSA/Pool via REUTERS/File photo
PARIS - A French man has been missing in Iran since mid-June, France's minister responsible for the country's residents abroad said on Monday, adding that Paris had no details on what had happened to the man.
"It's a worrying disappearance and we are in contact with the family," Laurent Saint-Martin, who is also trade minister, told RTL radio.
"It is worrying because Iran has a deliberate policy of taking Western hostages," he added.
But Saint-Martin did not say specifically that the Iranian authorities were holding the man, who also has German nationality.
French media reported that the man was an 18-year-old who had been on a cycling trip in the region but went missing a few days after Israeli planes struck targets in Iran.
Separately, a diplomatic source said Iran has charged two French nationals - Jacques Paris and Cecile Kohler - with spying for Israel's Mossad intelligence service. The two have been held in Iran more than three years in what France has called state-sponsored hostage taking.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, who spoke with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araqchi on Sunday, made no mention in a statement of the missing teenager but demanded the "immediate and unconditional" release of Paris and Kohler.
Top stories
Swipe. Select. Stay informed.
Singapore Eligible S'poreans to get up to $850 in GSTV cash, up to $450 in MediSave top-ups in August
Singapore Four golf courses to close by 2035, leaving Singapore with 12 courses
Singapore Fewer marriages and births in Singapore in 2024; greater stability for later cohorts
Singapore Paternity leave take-up in S'pore rises to 56% in 2023; experts hope for further boost after extension
Singapore Construction starts on Cross Island Line Phase 2; 6 MRT stations in S'pore's west ready by 2032
Singapore $1.46b nickel scam: Ng Yu Zhi opts to remain silent after judge calls for his defence
Singapore More nurses to anchor care in community settings as Singapore's population ages
Life How to cope with the heat when travelling: 5 expert-backed tips
Kohler's sister on Sunday said that the two had been moved from Evin prison in Tehran after Israel bombed the site but that she had not been told where the two were now being held.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards have detained dozens of foreign and dual nationals in recent years, often on espionage-related charges. Rights groups and Western countries accuse Tehran of using foreign detainees as bargaining chips, which it denies.
France in May filed a case at the World Court against Iran for violating the right to consular protection, in a bid to pressure Tehran over the detention of its two citizens. REUTERS
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Straits Times
39 minutes ago
- Straits Times
US senator warns of fossil fuel coup, economic reckoning from climate impacts
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Despite the bleak landscape, Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse still sees a narrow path to climate safety - and points to several potential game changers. WASHINGTON - One of the US Senate's leading climate advocates says President Donald Trump's administration no longer governs – it 'occupies' the nation on behalf of Big Oil. In an interview, Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island blamed the sweeping rollback of environmental protections on a flood of unlimited, anonymous corporate political spending, and said exposing the scale of this 'fraud' is key to breaking its grip. His remarks came as the death toll from catastrophic flooding in Texas linked by scientists to climate change threatened to surge further. 'This isn't even government any longer,' the 69-year-old told a small group of reporters ahead of an address to Congress on July 9 – his 300th so-called 'Time to Wake Up' speech, delivered as activists reel from Mr Trump's actions. 'This is an occupying force from the fossil fuel industry that has injected itself into the key positions of responsibility,' said the lawmaker. 'It has the appearance of being government – they ride around in the black cars... they have the offices, they have the titles,' he said. But in reality, 'they're fossil fuel flunkies... and they care not a whit for public opinion or public safety.' Big Oil spent at least US$445 million (S$570 million) to help elect Mr Trump, according to a recent analysis by Climate Power, which said its figure was likely a vast underestimate because of undisclosed donations. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. World Trump's ambassador nominee to Singapore Anjani Sinha has a rough day at Senate hearing Asia Dr Mahathir at 100: Still haunted by the Malay Dilemma Singapore What's next for PSP following its post-GE leadership shake-up? Singapore 'Give a positive review': Hidden AI prompt found in academic paper by NUS researchers Multimedia 60 objects to mark SG60: Which is your favourite? Singapore Apex court upholds SMC's conviction of doctor who gave patients unapproved hormones Singapore Singaporean fugitive arrested in Thailand for suspected drug trafficking and handed over to CNB World Trump issues tariff notices to 7 minor trading partners, hits Brazil with 50% tariff Dark money takeover In his second term, the Republican president has pulled the United States out of the Paris climate agreement, gutted science agencies, fired researchers and forecasters, scrapped his predecessor Joe Biden's clean energy tax cuts and rolled back powerplant and vehicle efficiency standards. Senator Whitehouse calls it the oil, coal and gas industry's 'most sordid dreams come true' and says the stage was set by the 2010 Supreme Court 'Citizens United' ruling, which unleashed an era of unchecked corporate political spending. A former state attorney-general who battled corporate polluters, he recalled that when he first joined the Senate, climate bipartisanship flourished: John McCain, the GOP's 2008 presidential nominee, had 'a perfectly respectable climate platform,' while Republican senators proposed bills. 'These weren't little tiddlywinks, nibble-at-the-edges bills,' he recalled, but would have genuinely changed the trajectory of climate emissions. Citizens United reversed century-old campaign finance restrictions and opened the floodgates to dark money. 'They were able to come into the Republican Party and say, 'We will give you unlimited amounts of money. You will have more money in your elections than you've ever seen before'.' The way forward Despite the bleak landscape, Senator Whitehouse still sees a narrow path to climate safety - and points to several potential game changers. First, he cites the possible emergence of a global carbon pricing effort, spearheaded by the European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, which taxes importers based on their climate footprint. Countries like Britain, Canada, Mexico and Australia could join this movement, creating a de facto global price on carbon, enforced through trade – without US legislation. Second, he says, Democrats can and must expose fossil fuel's stranglehold on the Republican party, a phenomenon he calls one of the 'most grave incidents of political corruption and fraud that the country has ever seen', and pass a bill forcing donor transparency. Third, what was once framed as a crisis for polar bears – and later as an opportunity for green jobs – is today directly hitting Americans where it hurts most: their wallets. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has warned that climate change will shrink mortgage availability across swaths of the United States in the coming years as banks and insurers retreat from fire- and flood-prone regions. Risks could cascade from an insurance crunch into a broader mortgage collapse – potentially triggering a 2008-style crash. Senator Whitehouse predicts the fossil fuel industry's hold on Republicans won't last forever. 'When it becomes clear what has been done here, then there's going to be a dramatic reset,' he said. 'A reckoning will come for this. There's no doubt about it – it's just the nature of human affairs.' Mr Trump himself, he added, was merely swept along by the dominant current of the post-2010 Republican Party, with no ideological stake in the issue. As recently as 2009, he co-signed a full-page advertisement in the New York Times demanding stronger climate action from then president Barack Obama. AFP

Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
The Usual Place Podcast: What's next for PSP following its post-GE leadership shake-up?
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox What's next for PSP following its post-GE leadership shake-up? Synopsis: Join Natasha Ann Zachariah at The Usual Place as she unpacks the latest current affairs with guests. Two months after its dismal showing at the 2025 General Election, Progress Singapore Party (PSP) has shaken up its leadership team. On July 5, it announced that its founder and chairman Tan Cheng Bock, and vice-chair Hazel Poa had stepped down from their roles in the central executive committee (CEC), the party's highest decision-making body. Party treasurer S. Nallakaruppan also relinquished his position. All three will remain members of the party. Dr Tan has been designated party adviser. Ms Poa was a Non-Constituency MP (NCMP) in the last term of Parliament, along with party chief Leong Mun Wai. At a press conference at the party's headquarters in Bukit Timah Shopping Centre on July 5, Mr Leong announced a renewal plan, and introduced three new members who were co-opted into the CEC. The first is Ms Stephanie Tan, a full-time homemaker and former lawyer, who was the PSP candidate for Pioneer SMC. The other two are Mr Sani Ismail, an in-house legal counsel who contested West Coast-Jurong West GRC, and Mr Lawrence Pek, a former secretary-general of the Singapore Manufacturing Federation, who contested Chua Chu Kang GRC. Ms Tan joins me in this podcast to talk about being part of PSP's refreshed leadership team, the insights she gleaned from walking the ground as a first-time candidate, and the challenges of a political party without a presence in Parliament. The Usual Place podcast is livestreamed at noon on YouTube on Thursdays. Subscribe to the YouTube channel to catch the podcast when it airs on July 10. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. World Trump's ambassador nominee to Singapore Anjani Sinha has a rough day at Senate hearing Asia Dr Mahathir at 100: Still haunted by the Malay Dilemma Singapore 'Give a positive review': Hidden AI prompt found in academic paper by NUS researchers Singapore Apex court upholds SMC's conviction of doctor who gave patients unapproved hormones Multimedia 60 objects to mark SG60: Which is your favourite? Singapore Singaporean fugitive arrested in Thailand for suspected drug trafficking and handed over to CNB World Trump issues tariff notices to 7 minor trading partners, hits Brazil with 50% tariff Business SGX securities turnover up 23% in June, bringing financial year's gain to 28% Host: Natasha Ann Zachariah ( natashaz@ ) Read Natasha's articles: Follow Natasha on her IG account and DM her your thoughts on this topic: Follow Natasha on LinkedIn: Follow The Usual Place Podcast and get notified for new episode drops every Thursday: Channel: Apple Podcasts: Spotify: YouTube: Feedback to: podcast@ --- Follow more ST podcast channels: All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: ST Podcasts website: ST Podcasts YouTube: --- Get The Straits Times app, which has a dedicated podcast player section: The App Store: Google Play:

Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Israel says missile launched from Yemen was intercepted
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox The Israeli military said on Thursday that a missile launched from Yemen was intercepted after air raid sirens sounded in several areas across the country. The Iran-aligned Houthis, who control the most populous parts of Yemen, have been firing at Israel and attacking shipping lanes. Houthis have repeatedly said that their attacks are an act of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel's military assault since late 2023 has killed more than 57,000 people, Gaza authorities say. Most of the dozens of missiles and drones they have launched have been intercepted or fallen short. Israel has carried out a series of retaliatory strikes. REUTERS