UN experts urge Iran to stop post-ceasefire crackdown

“Iranian authorities don't tell [us] where they are being held,” Cécile’s sister Noémie told Iran International on Friday.

The couple were arrested in May 2022 while on a tourist trip to Iran.

Noémie said that since the Israeli strike, they have had only one consular visit, on July 1, when the family was relieved to learn that they were "at least still alive.”

She said that the couple had been held in Ward 209 — which operates under the oversight of Iran's Intelligence Ministry — at the time of the strike, and that they had remained there for more than three years.

“They were held in 209 for more than three years,” she said. “They were in solitary confinement several months.”

Ward 209 lies outside the prison's regular judicial oversight and has been described by Human Rights Watch as a “prison within a prison,” where detainees are frequently subjected to prolonged solitary confinement, denied legal access, and subjected to harsh interrogation that may amount to torture.

The couple were moved shortly after the blasts. “We understood [Cécile] was transferred to Qarchak prison,” Noémie said. “She was transferred to Qarchak prison for 24 hours. Then she was transferred to an undisclosed place — she was blindfolded so she doesn’t know where she is being held right now.”

“Jacques was transferred to an undisclosed location right after the bombings,” she added.

The family has not had direct contact with either of them since May 28.

Noémie said Iranian authorities recently charged the couple with “spying for Israel,” “conspiracy to overthrow the regime,” and “corruption on Earth” — charges that carry the death penalty under Iranian law.

“We don’t have more specific information. We only know a judge told them the charges,” she said.

She said the couple is not allowed independent legal representation and that “nobody has access to their case file.”

Psychological torture

During their last direct contact on May 28, Cécile told her family that a judge had warned them a verdict would be issued soon — and that it would be “very severe.”

“The judge had been telling them that for six months,” Noémie said. “Another example of psychological torture.”

Asked why Iranian authorities may be targeting the couple so harshly, Noémie said, “To put pressure on France, I assume. We don’t know what they want and why they persecute Cécile and Jacques this badly.”

She accused Iranian authorities of ongoing abuse. “The Iranian authorities are continuing to torture Cécile and Jacques psychologically after more than three years of detention in inhuman conditions, after they narrowly survived the bombings, with charges that carry the death penalty,” she said.

“They must stop trampling on Cécile and Jacques's rights, disclose their place of detention, allow them to contact their families, and above all hand them over to the French authorities as a matter of urgency.”

France has condemned the charges as politically motivated and continues to demand the couple’s immediate release. Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot has called the accusations “unjustified and unfounded.”

Noémie said she believes the French government is making efforts to help, but called the lack of transparency “complicated and frustrating.”

“My message to Western leaders, especially European, is that they have to work together to put an end to hostage diplomacy,” she added.

Kohler, a teacher, and Paris, her partner, are the last known French citizens held in Iran. French President Emmanuel Macron has described them as “state hostages.”

France and other European Union members accuse Iran of practicing “hostage diplomacy” — detaining foreigners to pressure Western governments.

Iran denies the accusation. Its officials say the arrests followed legal procedures and reject claims of mistreatment.

“I think here's where they should discuss the terms of, in effect, the surrender of the Ayatollahs,” Bolton said, calling for sustained pressure to build on military successes in a 12-day Israel-Iran war to pave the way for the collapse of Iran's theocracy.

Trump is due to receive Netanyahu on Monday in their first meeting since US and Israeli strikes targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities, missile infrastructure and command centers, killing as many up to 1,200 Iranians. 24 Israelis were killed in Iranian attacks.

Netanyahu has said he will also meet Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.

A weakened Islamic Republic

Bolton argued that the strikes which crippled key military sites and killed senior commanders of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), have pushed the Islamic Republic's leadership to the brink.

“The aerial strikes are really a substantial destabilizing factor,” he said. “They demonstrate beyond a doubt the Ayatollahs are no longer able to defend their own country. They can be pushed about at will.”

The Islamic Republic, Bolton argued, is at its most vulnerable point since the 1979 revolution, weakened not just militarily but also internally, citing longstanding discontent, particularly among youth, women, and ethnic minorities.

“We're within sight of it, which is why it would be such a tragedy to let up now and let it slip between our fingers,” said Bolton.

There have been few significant protests during or after the conflict.

Ceasefire 'mistake'

Although Bolton praised the initial decision to strike Iran’s nuclear program, he criticized the subsequent US-brokered ceasefire as “a mistake.”

“Our military knows that you don't know exactly how much damage has been done in the first hours after an attack,” he said. “We were in complete control of the skies ... (and) that gave us time ... to decide where additional attacks might be necessary.”

Instead, Bolton said the ceasefire gave Iran breathing room at a critical moment. He attributes that decision, in part, to Trump’s desire to appear as a global dealmaker.

“Trump wants a Nobel Peace Prize and I think he believes that after a very successful US military strike that he could broker it,” said Bolton. “It's always in personal terms for Trump. It's not about American national security interests or Israel or Iran, it's about what makes him look best.”

The president and Bolton spectacularly fell out in public and Trump has repeatedly insulted his ex-subordinate and pulled his government security detail.

Bolton accused the administration of prioritizing loyalty and optics over expertise, pointing to Trump’s appointment of real estate developer Steve Witkoff as Iran envoy.

“Trump's negotiator, Steve Witkoff… has no concept what he's dealing with when he negotiates with the Ayatollahs, no knowledge of nuclear weapons or the risk of nuclear proliferation,” said Bolton.

Critics have raised concerns about 900 pounds of uranium enriched to 60 percent that remains unaccounted for. Bolton said strikes on Esfahan and other sites likely destroyed key elements required to turn that material into a weapon.

“They may have a lot of partially enriched uranium hexafluoride gas,” he said, “but it's a long way to go from that to actually making a nuclear weapon.”

In dozens of messages sent to Iran International's submissions line, Iranians lambasted Khamenei for what they called a false triumph narrative delivered from underground.

“This shameless coward sends messages from a rat hole while the Israeli prime minister walks among his people,” one person said. “Even a kid can tell what really happened.”

In a June 26 speech broadcast from an unknown location, the 86-year-old theocrat said Israel “was nearly brought to its knees" and that Iran had dealt the United States “a harsh slap”.

“If he’s telling the truth, let him come out and speak," another person told Iran International. "He’s still hiding in the sewers."

Mockery was sharp and specific in almost all messages. Another described the leader as “a baby-faced coward high on his own smoke, completely out of touch.”

A leader underground, a public exhausted

A Tehran resident added: “We’ve lived under this regime for nearly fifty years. We’ve learned to reverse everything they say. If he says we crushed them, it means we were crushed.”

Khamenei’s continued isolation was a recurring theme for contributors.

“He hasn’t seen sunlight for weeks. He’s delusional from being underground too long,” one message read. “Come up and see if even a dozen people still believe your story.”

Several messages questioned why, if victory had truly been achieved, key Iranian figures like Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reportedly had to request safe passage from Israel just to leave Iranian airspace. Others said even funeral processions of senior commanders were clearer signs of defeat than any speech.

“You weren’t leading anything,” said another viewer. “You hid while others died. Then you reappeared to lecture us from a camera.”

“We’re tired. We’ve survived forty-six years of war, lies and plunder. Enough,” said another.

One contributor predicted there would be no refuge from an inevitable popular backlash: “One day, the people will raise a new flag with bare hands. That day, there will be no bunker and no lie left for you to hide behind.”

Ali Khamenei has not appeared at any public gathering or event since the start of the 12-day war with Israel. He skipped the funerals of slain military commanders and nuclear scientists, and did not even attend the annual mourning ceremonies held at the Hussainiyah in his Tehran compound.

IHR said many of the espionage trials were rushed and relied on confessions obtained under torture.

Among those hanged on espionage charges were political prisoners Esmail Fekri who was executed after a 10-minute trial without access to a lawyer, Mohammad Amin Mahdavi Shayesteh who allegedly confessed under torture and three Kurdish men including an Iraqi national accused of assisting in the 2020 assassination of nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, according to IHR.

“The Islamic Republic is at its weakest point in its history, and in order to survive, it needs to carry out more executions to intimidate what it sees as its greatest threat: the Iranian people,” said IHR Director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam.

The group said 98 people were executed in total across Iran in June alone. Nearly half were executed for drug-related offenses, while 32 were carried out under the Islamic law of retribution for murder, IHR's report said.

Among those put to death were Afghan nationals, members of Iran’s Kurdish, Arab, and Baluch minorities and one woman.

IHR's report comes amid an escalating crackdown on dissent following the conflict in which Iran's military and nuclear program were dealt big setbacks.

Rezgar Beigzadeh Babamiri, a Kurdish political prisoner arrested during the 2022 nationwide protests, was sentenced to death on charges including plotting to assassinate Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, his daughter told Iran International on Thursday.

At least 612 people were executed in the first half of 2025 — a 119% increase compared to the same period last year, the report added.

Iran accounted for 64% of all known global executions in 2024, with at least 972 people executed, according to Amnesty International, in what the rights group deems an ongoing official campaign to suppress dissent.

In a statement on X, the agency said Director General Rafael Grossi had “reiterated the crucial importance” of holding talks with Iranian authorities to resume the IAEA’s “indispensable” monitoring and verification work “as soon as possible.”

The inspectors had remained in Tehran throughout the 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel.

The announcement follows a report by the Wall Street Journal that the inspectors were pulled out over safety concerns and transported by road to Armenia in a departure coordinated with Iranian authorities.

Citing sources familiar with the matter, the newspaper reported that the agency had been trying to arrange the exit for several days and chose ground transport to reduce visibility and risk.

The move comes after weeks of rising tensions between Tehran and the UN nuclear watchdog. On Wednesday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian enacted a law requiring the suspension of cooperation under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty’s safeguards agreement unless Iran’s demands for security guarantees are met.

Tehran has accused the IAEA of sharing sensitive data with Israel and the US, and of failing to condemn last month’s airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

While Iran has denied ending cooperation entirely, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said coordination with the agency would now be managed through Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.

This is while hardline Iranian media have called for Grossi's arrest and execution, and a senior judiciary official said Grossi could face trial in absentia for “deceptive actions.”

It remains unclear when or whether IAEA inspectors will return. WSJ reporter Laurence Norman said there is “no reason to feel confident” they will be back in Tehran anytime soon, adding that it could be years before monitoring operations resume.