UPDATE on Lennart Monterlos, 18-year-old Franco-German cyclist who disappeared in Iran arrested for "a crime"
Translated from French, from Le Monde, July 11, 2025, evening edition
"An official notification regarding the situation" of the young man, who has not been heard from since June 16 while cycling across the country, "has been sent to the French embassy," the Iranian foreign minister announced to Le Monde. Paris denounces Tehran's "hostage diplomacy."
Lennart Monterlos, missing since June 16, 2025, while cycling in Iran, in a photo taken at an unknown location. XavierGaliana/Instagram//@TheLongRideC2C.2
The cause of the disappearance was suspected, but it has now been confirmed: Lennart Monterlos, the young Franco-German, who has not been heard from since June 16 while cycling through Iran, "has been arrested for committing a crime," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced in an interview with Le Monde on Thursday, July 10. "An official notification regarding his situation has been sent to the French Embassy," the Iranian foreign minister added.
With this additional arrest, three French citizens are now detained in this country, which France strongly advises against visiting due to the "risk of arbitrary arrest."
The Iranian Foreign Minister did not specify the nature of the crime committed by 18-year-old Lennart Monterlos. Neither did the German Foreign Ministry, when contacted by Agence France-Presse (AFP), which simply stated that it was "aware of the facts."
Bayrou calls on Iran not to "persecute innocent people"
"The duty of countries is not to persecute innocent people who are sometimes unaware of the risks they face," Prime Minister François Bayrou responded on LCI. "We have a duty (...) to protect each other, especially in such difficult times of tension and war," and "we must respect it," he added, calling on travelers to "respect the instructions" that this young cyclist "had mocked."
The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that it was "in contact with the Iranian authorities regarding the situation" of the young man. "We are also in contact with the family," it added, declining to make further comments "concerning a case that puts the security" of a French citizen at risk. "We reiterate our call to all [our] nationals not to travel to Iran," the ministry continued.
This week, the Quai d'Orsay urged French citizens not to travel to Iran or, for those already there, to leave Iranian territory, stressing that Tehran was pursuing "a deliberate" and "assumed policy of taking Westerners hostage"