Nazanin and Anoosheh arrives in UK
Nazanin Zaghari- Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori, British- Iranian nationals, jailed in Iran, touched down at RAF Brize Norton, in Oxfordshire, just after 01:00GMT on Thursday.
Ms. Zaghari- Ratcliffe was accused of plotting to overthrow Iran’s government and Mr. Ashoori had been held for allegedly spying claims denied by both of them. The International Revolutionary Guard and Iran’s judiciary no loner fell they need Ms. Zaghari- Ratcliffe for leverage in relations with the UK. She was a diplomatic pawn and used to put pressure on London by the Iranian authorities, if Tehran wanted to make nice, they would treat her well, give her access to medical help, increase the frequency of visits, even give temporary furlough from jail and if they wanted to exert pressure on London, then her condition might worsen and privileges were withdrawn. The UK paying the historic £400m debt for tanks sold but not delivered will have made a huge difference. The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) claimed they wanted to pay the dent but were prevented initially by the reluctance within the Treasury and the United States, fearing it would reward hostage-taking and even fund terrorism, and even fears the US would penalise any British financial institution that paid the money to the Iranian defence ministry in breach of international sanctions. The relentlessness of families campaigning, and the UK’s diplomacy also played a role in their release. Boris Johnson’s false claim that Ms. Zaghari- Ratcliffe had been training journalists in Iran, a claim that resulted in Iran to level fresh charges.
Ms. Zaghari-Ratcliffe was first detained by the Iranian authorities in April 2016, although repeated attempts to secure her release failed.
Their release is the result of months of negotiations between the British and Iranian governments.
Talks taking place in Vienna, designed to revive the agreement under which Iran limited its nuclear activities in return for seeing economic sanctions lifted, as Iran’s economy has been suffering, and clearly a new deal, and better relations with the UK might make that happen. In recent weeks during the Ukraine conflict, Britain and Iran’s interests have also come closer together and if sanctions can be lifted Iran can start selling its oil again, that could help reduce global energy prices. Hopes for her release had been raised yesterday after news that she had been given back her British passport.
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe (43) worked as a project manager for the charity Thomson Reuters Foundation and was previously employed by the BBC Media Action, an international development charity. Iranian government alleged Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was plotting to topple the government in Tehran with the Iran’s Revolutionary Guards saying she was leading a “foreign-linked hostile network”, when she visited with daughter now six to celebrate the Iranian new year and visit her parents.
Both the Thomson Reuters Foundations and BBC Media Action issued statements saying she was not working in Iran but was on holiday there. In April 2021, after spending the final year of her term on parole at her parent’s home in Tehran, she was sentenced to a further year in prison and a one-year travel ban, after being found guilty of propaganda against the Iranian government, after losing an appeal against her second conviction.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss denounced the decision as “an appalling continuation of the cruel ordeal” the mother was going through, as successive foreign secretaries previously led unsuccessful efforts to secure Mrs Zaghari- Ratcliffe’s release.