Lennart Monterlos
Lennart Monterlos
French-German Cyclist
Biography
Lennart Morterlos is an 18-year-old bicyclist and French-German national.
Arrest
Morterlos disappeared while traveling through Iran on June 16, 2025, during the Iran–Israel war, while on a bicycling trip from Europe to Japan.
He documented his travels on Instagram, posting in May that he was planning to go through Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. “At 18 years old, I am going to cross the world's most dangerous countries . . . am I brave or oblivious?” he wrote. In another post,which has since been deleted, Monterlos lauded Iran for its hospitality and beauty, while criticizing Western media for raising fear about the risks of traveling to that country. The day before his disappearance, Monterlos posted: “Day 152 of the France-Japan cycling adventure. Today, I'm in Iran and I'm leaving comfort for a crazy adventure in the desert and the heat to discover the sand dunes near Varzaneh.”
On July 7, 2025, France’s minister delegate for foreign trade and French living abroad, Laurent Saint-Martin, disclosed that Monterlos was missing in Iran, calling his disappearance “worrying” given Iran’s policy of taking foreign nationals hostage.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed to Le Monde on July 10, 2025, that Monterlos “was arrested for committing a crime, and that “an official notification about the situation has been transmitted to the French embassy,” Araghchi said. The foreign minister did not name the crime Monterlos allegedly committed.
International Reaction
On July 17. 2025, family and friends of Monterlos told Agence France-Presse that one month after his disappearance, “we have no official information about either the place of his detention or the reasons for his arrest . . . We count on the efforts of French diplomats, who we know to be mobilized, for the swift release of our very young son, who is innocent of everything. We ask the Iranian authorities who are holding him for a sign of life and to be able to get in touch with him as soon as possible.”
In an interview, French Prime Minister François Bayrou said “It is the duty of countries not to persecute innocent people who are sometimes unaware of the risks they are taking.” He urged on travelers to “follow the rules” that Monterlos “disregarded.” The French foreign ministry, said it was “in contact with the Iranian authorities regarding the situation" of Monterlos and was “also in contact with the family.” The ministry declined to comment further, “as this is a case involving the security” of a French national.
Acquittal and Release
An Iranian Revolutionary Court announced on October 6, 2025, that Monterlos had been acquitted of espionage. He was released on October 8 and returned to France.
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