“The necessary procedures have been carried out, and we hope this matter will soon be finalized,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday.
In exchange, the jailed Iranian academic Mahdieh Esfandiari is expected to be released by France, Baghaei added, according to a report by the ISNA news agency.
The two French teachers, Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, were arrested in May 2022 while travelling in Iran. Authorities accused them of espionage and of establishing contact with Iranian trade union activists.
Esfandiari, meanwhile, is accused by France of glorifying terrorist acts on social media, particularly in connection with the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Both Paris and Tehran have dismissed the charges against their respective nationals as unfounded.
In a separate development, a German-French teenager held in southern Iran was acquitted of espionage charges on Monday.
The court in the Hormozgan Province expressed doubts about the indictment by the prosecutor’s office.
The 19-year-old, identified as Lennart M, had been arrested in June while cycling through the province, shortly after Israeli attacks on Iran.
Authorities accused him of spying for Israeli intelligence.
Whether he will be released soon remains unclear, as prosecutors may still appeal the ruling.
Western governments and human rights organizations have long accused Iran of engaging in “hostage diplomacy”, by detaining foreign nationals as leverage for the release of Iranian assets or officials held abroad.
Tehran denies these allegations, and justifies the detainments with espionage charges.
GNA