Iran and France carried out a prisoner swap on Friday, Tehran has confirmed. The Islamic Republic released a French academic, Roland Marchal, who was turned over to the French Embassy in Tehran.

Hours earlier, an Iranian engineer, Jalal Rohollahnejad, who was detained by France last year under a US extradition warrant, was freed by French authorities.

Iran had previously accused Paris of holding the Iranian national without due process. France made similar allegations regarding Tehran's detention of Marchal, with the issue straining bilateral relations.

A spokesman for the Iranian judiciary hailed the exchange as "an act of mutual cooperation."

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