France, May 16 -- Paris has filed a case against Tehran at the UN's International Court of Justice over two French citizens who have been held in Iran for three years, the French foreign minister said on Friday.

In its case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), France accuses Iran "of violating its obligation to provide consular protection" to Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris and holding them "hostage" under "appalling conditions that amount to torture," Jean-Noel Barrot told France 2 television.

The announcement comes as Iranian negotiators are set to meet with their counterparts from the United Kingdom, France, and Germany in Turkey on Friday for talks on Iran's nuclear programme.

French teacher Kohler and her partner Paris on ...