Iran begins military drills near Natanz nuclear site

Iran's military has begun drills near the Natanz nuclear enrichment plant in the centre of the country, state media reported Tuesday, as part of exercises planned nationwide.

The drills -- dubbed Eqtedar, or "might", in Farsi -- have involved the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the ideological branch of Iran's military, alongside the army.

"The first phase of the joint Eqtedar exercises in the air defense zone of the Natanz nuclear facility has commenced under the orders of the air defense headquarters commander," state TV said.

It added that IRGC air forces were undertaking "an all-out point defense" of the site "against a multitude of air threats in tough electronic warfare conditions".

On Monday, IRGC spokesman Ali Mohammad Naini said the drills, which will also cover other parts of Iran until mid-March, were being conducted in response to "new security threats", without elaborating.

Several branches of the IRGC, including the navy and the paramilitary Basij forces, will also take part in the exercises, he added.

Last week, US news website Axios reported that White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan had presented President Joe Biden with options for a potential US strike on Iran's nuclear facilities if Tehran moved toward developing a nuclear weapon before January 20, when Donald Trump takes office.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei lambasted the reports, saying threats against the country's nuclear facilities were "a gross violation of international law".

Iran maintains that its nuclear programme is solely for peaceful purposes and denies any intention to develop atomic weapons.

Iran has in recent years increased its manufacturing of enriched uranium, and it is the only non-nuclear weapons state to possess uranium enriched to 60 percent, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) nuclear watchdog said.

That level is well on the way to the 90 percent required for an atomic bomb.

Tensions over Iran's nuclear programme soared after the United States, during Trump's first term in office, withdrew from a landmark nuclear deal that offered Tehran sanctions relief in return for curbs on its nuclear ambitions.

France asks citizens to avoid Iran 

France on Tuesday urged its citizens to avoid travelling to Iran until French nationals held there have been released.

"The situation of our compatriots held hostage in Iran is quite simply unacceptable. They have been unjustly detained for several years, in unworthy conditions," Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said, urging French nationals not to go to Iran until "our hostages" have been freed.

According to French authorities, three French nationals are held in Iran.

Cecile Kohler and her partner Jacques Paris have been jailed in Iran since May 2022 on charges of espionage, a capital offence in the Islamic republic.

Another French citizen, identified only by his first name, Olivier, has been in jail since October 2022. French authorities have not released details of his case.

Barrot said Paris had not forgotten about them "for a single second".

Since the election of President Masoud Pezeshkian and "despite our efforts to engage at the highest level, their situation has deteriorated", Barrot added.

"I say to the Iranian authorities: our hostages must be released," he said, adding that "bilateral relations and the future of the sanctions" were at stake.

"And until our hostages have been completely released, I ask our compatriots not to travel to Iran."

Iran, which does not recognise dual citizenship, holds several Europeans in detention, most of them also Iranian.

Rights groups describe them as "hostages" used as leverage in negotiations.

In December, Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, reported to be 29, was arrested in Tehran.

Iran said it arrested Sala for "violating the law", a move decried by Italy as "unacceptable".