A French citizen imprisoned in Iran for more than 880 days has been freed, President Emmanuel Macron has announced.
The release of Olivier Grondeau comes as France and the rest of Europe attempt to pursue negotiations with Iran over its rapidly advancing nuclear programme.
US President Donald Trump has also sent his own letter to Iran's 85-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to jumpstart talks.
Mr Trump is additionally pressuring Tehran over its support of Yemen's Houthi rebels as the American military has launched an intense new campaign of airstrikes targeting the group.
Mr Macron confirmed Mr Grondeau's release in a post on X, writing: "Olivier Grondeau is free, in France, among his family! We share his family's immense happiness and relief."
X This content is provided by X, which may be using cookies and other technologies. To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies. You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable X cookies or to allow those cookies just once. You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options. Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to X cookies. To view this content you can use the button below to allow X cookies for this session only.
Enable Cookies Allow Cookies Once
The French president offered no immediate details of what led to the release, although it came on Nowruz, the Persian New Year when Iran has released prisoners in the past.
Jean-Noel Barrot, France's minister for Europe and foreign affairs, shared an image of Mr Grondeau smiling aboard what appeared to be a private jet.
More on France
Related Topics:
X This content is provided by X, which may be using cookies and other technologies. To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies. You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable X cookies or to allow those cookies just once. You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options. Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to X cookies. To view this content you can use the button below to allow X cookies for this session only.
Enable Cookies Allow Cookies Once
A plastic-wrapped T-shirt bearing a picture of popstar Britney Spears was on Mr Grondeau's lap, something the official did not acknowledge in welcoming his release.
is mother had described the former youth Scrabble champion as a fan of Beyonce and karaoke in interviews with French media after he and his family went public with his detention in January.
Read more from Sky News:
Trump just wants a deal - will Putin or Zelenskyy blink first?
Israel launches new 'limited ground invasion' of Gaza
Mr Grondeau was detained by Iranian authorities in October 2022 in the city of Shiraz.
An Iranian court later sentenced the backpacker and world traveller to five years in prison on espionage charges that he, his family and the French government vigorously denied.
He had been held at Tehran's notorious Evin prison, which holds Westerners, dual nationals and political prisoners often used by Tehran as bargaining chips in negotiations with the West.
"We will tirelessly continue our efforts to ensure that all our compatriots still held hostage, including Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, are in turn released," Mr Barrot wrote.
The Iranian government did not immediately acknowledge Mr Grondeau's release. Such releases of Westerners in Iran typically come in exchange for something.
Earlier this week, foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said that France had arrested an Iranian woman who supported Palestinians, but said Tehran was still trying to gather more details about her case.
Though the exact details of what sparked Mr Grondeau's arrest remain unclear, his detention began in the chaotic aftermath of the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died after being detained over not wearing Iran's mandatory headscarf, or hijab, to the liking of authorities.
United Nations investigators later said Iran was responsible for the "physical violence" that led to her death, which sparked months of protests and a bloody security force crackdown in the country.