Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe case: Talks continue as UK tries to resolve arms debt to Iran

The UK government denied this week that the debt was connected to the charity worker’s detention

Iranian-British aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was released in March as part of Iran’s efforts to combat the spread of Covid-19 in its jails. Reuters

The UK is examining options to resolve an arms-deal debt to Iran which is linked to the continued detention of charity worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, after a court hearing over the £400 million debt was postponed.

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 41, faced new charges in a Tehran court on Monday of spreading propaganda against the regime, which could extend her time in prison. The hearing came just days after a hearing in London over the decades-old debt was pushed back to 2021 at Iran’s request.

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe was first detained in April 2016 and jailed for five years at a secret trial, accused of plotting to destabilise Iran’s regime. The UK maintains that she was just in Iran to visit her parents with her young daughter.

Supporters say resolving the debt is key to the release of Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe and other British dual-national detainees including retired engineer Anoosheh Ashoori.

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s family believe the new legal threat is connected to delays in returning payments to Iran made before the Shah-era deal was cancelled after the 1979 revolution.

Court hearings are continuing in London over the precise amount to be paid and how it could happen because of international sanctions placed on Iran.

The UK this week denied that the detention of Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe and the debt were linked. But Iraq’s foreign office minister Tariq Mahmood Ahmad told parliament on Wednesday that efforts were being made to resolve the issue.

“Discussions are ongoing to explore the options to resolve this 40-year-old case but it would be inappropriate for me to further comment on this particular case at this time,” he said.

The minister said the UK said it wanted to attend a hearing on Monday with Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe but was rebuffed because Iran does not recognise dual-nationals.

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe had feared being sent to prison after the hearing but was allowed to return to her parents’ home before she could put forward a defence. She has been on temporary release as Iran tackles the Covid-19 pandemic.