Teachers' Union calls Iranian Broadcasting Corporation's report "smearing"

The Iranian Teachers' Union said in a statement that the Iranian Broadcasting Corporation's report on the arrest of two French citizens on charges of "contacting" union activists was prepared with the aim of "deceiving public opinion" and suppressing the teachers' rights movement.

On Wednesday, May 18, the Iranian Teachers' Union released a statement on its Telegram channel, responding to a report on the Islamic Republic Radio and Television and state media that two arrested French citizens had "contacted" teachers' union activists, calling it a "far-fetched scenario" that would make even "cooked chicken" laugh.

On May 16, Islamic Republic Television broadcast a report attributed to the Ministry of Intelligence, accusing two French citizens arrested in Iran of contacting teacher and labor activists and attempting to create "chaos" and "destabilize society."

The Iranian Teachers' Union strongly rejected this accusation in its statement, saying: "The teachers' protests have real roots and backgrounds that go back decades, and the mudslinging by the producers of this report is only an attempt to erase the issue."

The two French citizens arrested by the Islamic Republic's Ministry of Intelligence are Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, employees of the French Education and Training Union, who, according to the union, had traveled to Iran to spend a "vacation."

The Teachers' Union called Cecile Kohler a teacher and member of the French Teachers' Union, saying that she is "a well-known figure in the field of trade union activities and an important member of the International Education Organization (EI), and that all her national and international activities are carried out transparently."

The Teachers' Union Center has stated in its statement that the Coordinating Council of Teachers' Unions has been a member of the World Education Organization almost since its founding and has a completely "transparent and open" relationship with this international body, which is a collection of teachers' unions around the world.

The Teachers' Union has further raised this question: "How is it that this person, who is a member of this international organization and comes to Iran with a name, title, and customs and performs duties in his own field of activity, is called a spy?"

The Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers' Unions, affiliated with the Teachers' Union, is an organization responsible for coordinating teachers' union protests.

Two Frenchmen arrested by the Ministry of Intelligence

On Wednesday, May 11, the Ministry of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic of Iran issued a statement regarding the identification and arrest of two European individuals. The statement stated that the arrested individuals had entered Iran “with the aim of abusing the legitimate demands of some classes and strata of the country and changing the direction of normal demands into chaos, social disorder, and destabilization of society.”

It has also been claimed that these two "had the mission to gain insight into the problems and demands of the noble and hardworking segments of society by justifying, guiding, networking, and connecting corrupt individuals and networks within the country."

International reactions to the arrest of two French citizens

A day after the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting reported on the arrest of two French citizens in Iran on charges of "espionage," a spokesperson for the US State Department called for the immediate release of the two French citizens.

Previously, France condemned the arrest of two of its citizens in Iran, called for their immediate release, and summoned the Islamic Republic's chargé d'affaires in Paris to the Foreign Ministry.

The French Foreign Ministry announced in a statement on Thursday, May 12, that it was aware of the arrest of two French citizens in Iran and that French authorities were "fully prepared" in this regard.

The statement stressed: "The French government condemns this baseless arrest and calls for the immediate release of these two French citizens."

Source: DW