07-07-2025
French cyclist, 18, vanishes on trip through Iran and hasn't been heard from in weeks
A French teenager embarking on a 400-day cycling trip across Europe and Asia has been missing in Iran since June 16, according to his friends.
Posts shared on Instagram identified the missing person as 18-year-old Lennart Monterlos, who allegedly also holds German nationality.
The teen could be one of approximately 20 Europeans taken hostage by Iran or falsely accused of spying for Israel, a French diplomatic source said.
'This disappearance is worrying. We are in contact with the family about this,' the source said.
French nationals are advised not to travel to Iran, as Tehran is implementing 'a deliberate policy of taking Western hostages', the source added.
The source was unable to confirm if the young Frenchman was among the Europeans recently arrested in Iran on charges of spying for Israel.
The missing person alert was shared by friends on social media as they sought to track down missing Lennart.
Iran is believed to hold around 20 European nationals, many of whose cases have never been publicised, in what some Western governments including France describe as a strategy of hostage-taking aimed at extracting concessions from the West.
Three other Europeans, who have not been identified, have also been arrested in the wake of the recent conflict, two of whom are accused of spying for Israel, according to authorities.
Two French nationals Cecile Kohler, 40, and Jacques Paris, her 72-year-old partner, have been held in Iran since May 2022 on charges of espionage that their families deny.
Iran is 'targeting French nationals passing through the country, accusing them of espionage and detaining them in appalling conditions - some of which fall under the definition of torture under international law,' the source said.
Iran earlier this week charged the pair with spying for Israel's intelligence agency Mossad, as well as 'corruption of Earth' and 'plotting to overthrow the regime', diplomatic and family sources said on Wednesday.
Tehran has not confirmed the new charges, all three of which carry the death penalty.
On Sunday, Iran's IRNA news agency claimed a phone call had taken place between French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot and his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, Iran International reported.
IRNA said that the two men discussed 'consular affairs and regional developments', although it is not known if the cases of Lennart Monterlos, Cécile Kohler, or Jacques Paris were directly broached.
In a post on Instagram in June 2024, Lennart said he was 'planning a year-long cycling tour across Europe and Asia before starting my studies'
Iran, which is lead by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei (pictured), earlier this week charged Kohler and Paris with spying for Israel's intelligence agency Mossad, as well as 'corruption of Earth' and 'plotting to overthrow the regime'
The ambitious 35,000km bike ride was intended to take in 35 separate countries over 400 days.
On the fundraiser for his trip, Lennart wrote that he had already cycled alone from Besancon in eastern France to Amsterdam, an 800km journey.
The youngster described the trip as being guided by a desire 'to get out of my comfort zone' and 'distance myself, if only for a moment, from a life of overconsumption.'
The young Frenchman had raised 2,362 euros towards his round-the-world bike trip, which he estimated would cost a minimum of 10,000 euros.
