Iran reveals identities of two detained French 'spies'
State media aired what it said was Intelligence Ministry footage of the arrest of two French citizens, accused of attempting to "instigate chaos" by inciting Iran's protesting teachers.
One week after a statement on the arrest of two Europeans, Iran's Intelligence Ministry revealed the identities, nationality and details of what it claimed to be close surveillance of the two.
Aired by the conservative-controlled state television, the Intelligence Ministry's video report referred to French citizens Cecile Kohler, 37, and Chuck Paris, 69, as "spies," who landed in Tehran from neighboring Turkey on a tourist visa April 28.
The report said the pair were under close surveillance upon their arrival and were followed to their meetings with Iranian teacher unionists. Relying on an audio file purportedly taken at one such meeting, the Intelligence Ministry alleged that the two French nationals had established an "organized and coordinated" link to provoke the unionists into expanding their protests.
The video showed what appeared to be a nighttime chase-and-stop operation close to Tehran's International Imam Khomeini Airport, before the pair were about to board their return flight May 12.
