Iran confirms arrest of missing Franco-German cyclist – DW – 07/11/2025
Iranian authorities have confirmed that a teenage Franco-German bicycle tourist who vanished in Iran in mid-June has been arrested.
Both France and Germany have repeatedly criticized Iran for arresting and detaining European citizens on what they say are politically motivated or dubious charges.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghtschi told French newspaper that the young man was "detained for committing a crime," without providing details of the alleged offense.
He said the French embassy had been informed and that the French charge d'affaires visited the detainee, identified as 18-year-old Lennart Monterlos.
Araghtschi said Monterlos's case would now proceed "in accordance with Iranian law."
French media had previously reported the disappearance of Monterlos, who was on a round-the-world cycling trip when contact with him was lost. It was confirmed last Sunday by French diplomatic sources
According to a search appeal posted on Instagram, Monterlos's family last heard from him on June 16.
French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou called on Tehran not to "persecute the innocent who are sometimes unaware of the risks they face."
Speaking to French broadcaster LCI, he added: "We are not talking further about it to not create difficulty for or imperil the outcome of this affair."
France advises its citizens against traveling to Iran, accusing Tehran of "hostage diplomacy." Western nations suspect Iran of detaining their citizens as bargaining chips for concessions, especially on its nuclear program and the lifting of economic sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
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Bayrou reiterated the government's travel warning in a TV interview, urging all French citizens not to visit Iran and to respect official guidance — which Monterlos, he said, had "mocked."
Iran is holding two other French nationals, academics Cecile Kohler, 40, and Jacques Paris, 72, on charges of spying for Israel.
The pair, who could face the death penalty, were arrested on May 7, 2022, at the end of a holiday in Iran.
Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron warned that Iran could face "retaliation measures" if the two are not released.
The German Foreign Office in Berlin also warns against traveling to Iran and urges any Germans still in the country to leave.
In particular, the Foreign Office warns in its security guidance of the "clear risk of arbitrary arrest, interrogation, and lengthy prison sentences."
In late June, Iran acknowledged on Saturday that another German cyclist had been detained and held for more than a year. The individual was held on allegations of spying.
Earlier this year, Iran released German-Iranian women's rights activist Nahid Taghavi, who was imprisoned for over four years of a 10-year sentence for "propaganda against the state."
Taghavi, who lived in the German city of Cologne, was a vocal advocate of democratic and, particularly, women's rights in Iran. She was detained while visiting Iran in 2020.
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