| Canard Enchaîne wrote in its final December issue "An Iranian minister came from Tehran to Paris with a message from President Khatami to announce to Chirac that the two hostages will be freed by the end of 2004". Shedding new light on Iran's involvement in the kidnapping of two French journalists in Iraq, the weekly added, "The envoy accompanied by Sadeq Kharrazi, the Islamic Republic's Ambassador to Paris, met with the French Interior minister in mid-December. Shortly afterwards, Chirac privately met with the envoy, where he gave him the good news. Iran's Hezbollah agents in Lebanon played a significant role in this case". |