France's foreign ministry demanded on Thursday the immediate release of Bernard Phelan, a Franco-Irish citizen detained in Iran, whose health situation has worsened with Paris saying he has been denied urgent medical care.
Ties between France and Iran have deteriorated in recent months with Tehran detaining seven of its nationals in what Paris has said are arbitrary arrests that are equivalent to state hostage taking.
Phelan, 64, a tourism consultant was detained in early October as anti-government protests spread across the country. Diplomats said he had recently ended a hunger strike that had hit his health, but he remains fragile.
