Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

Iran's state broadcaster confirmed they had been “handed over to the British government”, suggesting they are now with the British negotiating team at the ...

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe is temporarily released from prison for the first time since she was arrested in 2016. Both Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her husband go on hunger strike over her ongoing detention. It was not clear what her charges were at the time, but she was later accused of spying – a charge she has denied to this day. Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s MP Tulip Siddiq appeared to confirm her release, saying: “Nazanin is at the airport in Tehran and on her way home. Foreign secretary, Liz Truss meets with Iran. Officials demand that Britain repay its £400m debt and takes serious steps to lift sanctions. In reality, Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe had worked for an online BBC World Service Trust journalist training course in a purely administrative role. Her lawyer Hojjat Kermani says an appeal is being launched. Mr Ratcliffe’s hopes of reuniting with his wife before Christmas are dashed. Rebecca Ratcliffe told the BBC: “It is quite emotional day today. Foreign secretary, Boris Johnson makes an significant error that affects Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s case. “Behind closed doors, with the lawyers, we’ve been asking: is this it? “This has gone on so long.

UK foreign secretary says British-Iranian dual nationals are flying back to Britain after being released from custody in Iran.

Germany is seeking the release of Nahid Taghavi, a German-Iranian dual national arrested in October 2020 by Iranian intelligence and sentenced to 10 years and eight months in prison. The details of the deal were hammered out in secret talks in February largely in Oman between a British Foreign Office team and the Iranians. With trust between the two countries at a low point, every aspect of the deal, including its choreography, had to be agreed. She told the BBC: “I have to act in the UK national interest. Truss said the UK would “continue to push with partners” to secure Tahbaz’s “long overdue” release home. Disagreements over his fate proved an obstacle to a deal in the past. We were not told about this arrangement except in a short phone call with the foreign secretary, when it was too late to do anything about it.

The charity worker, of Hampstead, north-west London, had been detained in Iran since her arrest in 2016.

before she would always go once a year, but she tried to go twice after,” he said. That is one of the hardest things,” he said. The dual national has always insisted she was not working for Thomson Reuters Foundation in Iran at the time of her arrest, but was visiting the country so Gabriella could meet her grandparents.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe will return to Britain today after being detained in Iran since April 2016, the foreign secretary Liz Truss has confirmed.

Now, we can look forward to rebuilding those same foundations with our cornerstone back in place." The full terms of the settlement will remain confidential. They have faced hardship that no family should ever experience and this is a moment of great relief. I pay tribute to my predecessors and the Prime Minister, who have all worked hard to resolve this issue. He told broadcasters that he was "deeply grateful" for her release and that he and their daughter Gabriella, who had been "singing and playing the piano all morning" following the news of her mother's return, were "looking forward to a new life". "They will be reunited with their families later today.

Charity worker detained in Tehran since 2016 on her way home to be reunited with six-year-old daughter and husband.

“International courts have agreed that we owe them money” and “the UK government has acknowledged the debt”, Foges continued. The detention of Zaghari-Ratcliffe and other British-Iranian dual nationals has been linked to a £400m debt dating back to 1971. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed that she was leading a “foreign-linked hostile network”.

Mother-of-one is 'on her way home' after long campaign for release, MP says.

As you can imagine, Richard is very emotional, patiently waiting as he has been for six years, but doesn’t have confirmation that his wife is on the flight yet.” London looks forward to welcoming her home,” he tweeted. She had been held under house arrest and unable to leave Iran since her release from prison. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Rebecca Ratcliffe told the BBC: “It is quite emotional day today. Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, said he was “delighted” at the news Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe was “on her way home to be reunited with her family”.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been detained in Iran for nearly six years after being arrested while taking her daughter to see her family.

London looks forward to welcoming her home.” They have faced hardship that no family should ever experience and this is a moment of great relief. I came into politics to make a difference, and right now I’m feeling like I have." We haven't yet. They will be reunited with their families later today." She said Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been picked up and taken to the airport with her parents, who were not allowed in a holding room with her because she was "still under Iranian control in the airport". Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, said: “I am delighted to hear that Nazanin is finally free and on her way home to be reunited with her family in the UK – after almost six years of wrongful imprisonment. "Nazanin and Anoosheh have unquestionably been used as political pawns by the Iranian authorities - and the Iranian authorities have acted with calculated cruelty, seeking to wring the maximum diplomatic value out of their captivity. Nazanin told independent investigators she was threatened with execution and the torture of her family and also said she was chained and blindfolded in prison – suffering sensory and sleep deprivation. He had called on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to acknowledge that his wife was being held "hostage" in Iran, and has pitched a tent in central London where he plans to keep a vigil outside the government building. The British-Iranian mum-of-one, who had her passport returned onWednesday, has been reunited with her husband and daughter after her plane landed at the Brize Norton military airbase in Oxfordshire.Wednesday, has been reunited with her husband and daughter after her plane landed at the Brize Norton military airbase in Oxfordshire. "Both of them are on their way to the airport in Tehran to leave Iran," Kermani said.

Hopes have been raised after an MP said the 43-year-old's British passport had been returned to her on Tuesday.

So there’s an element of false hopes and I think our family, Nazanin, her parents, find it hard to get too excited at the moment.” The Labour MP told LBC: “I’ve been speaking to her husband regularly, Richard Ratcliffe, who, as you know, has been fighting a relentless campaign on her behalf. Negotiations with Tehran to free British-Iranian mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe are “moving forward” and are “going right up to the wire”, Boris Johnson has said.

British-Iranian mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is about to leave Iran where she has been detained since 2016, her MP has said.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss told Sky News on Wednesday that it is a “priority to pay the debt that we owe to Iran”. Iranian state media on Wednesday said the UK has “settled a long-overdue debt” to Tehran, paving the way for dual-national detainees to be allowed to travel to the airport with British officials. The UK Government has accepted it should pay the “legitimate debt” for an order of 1,500 Chieftain tanks that was not fulfilled after the shah was deposed and replace by a revolutionary regime. While details of the negotiations remain unclear, it is possible they are linked to a £400 million debt dating back to the 1970s owned to Iran by the UK. “I shouldn’t really say much more right now just because those negotiations continue to be under way and we’re going right up to the wire.” The Labour MP for Hampstead and Kilburn told Sky News the family had “no information about a deal” amid reports in Iran that the UK has paid a £400 million debt owed to Iran.

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Mr Anoosheh Ashoori are understood to be at Tehran airport waiting to return to the UK.

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s local MP, Labour’s Tulip Siddiq, announced her release, saying: “Nazanin is at the airport in Tehran and on her way home. Her release comes after negotiations with the British, the details of which remain unclear. Mr Ashoori, who also has dual citizenship, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2019 for allegedly spying for Israel, and a further two years for “acquiring illegitimate wealth”.