British Prime Minister Theresa May will meet Iranian president Hassan Rouhani in New York on Tuesday, where she will press him to release a British-Iranian women imprisoned in Tehran, a senior government official told reporters.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who works for the Thomson Reuters Foundation – the media organisation's philanthropic arm – was arrested at Tehran airport in April 2016.
She is serving a five-year jail sentence for alleged sedition, which she denies.
During a meeting with Mr Rouhani on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, "you can expect the prime minister to raise our ongoing consular cases, including that of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe", the official said.
_______________
Read more:
UK warns dual nationals against visiting Iran
Briton jailed in Iran talked out of hunger strike
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe collapses in prison for second day in a row
_______________
"The prime minister will express serious concern about Ms Nazanin's ongoing detention and call for her to be released upon humanitarian grounds."
On Wednesday, Mrs May will hold one-on-one talks with US president Donald Trump, focusing on her hopes of agreeing a trade deal after Britain leaves the European Union.
"They both have a strong commitment to securing a strong UK-US free trade agreement when we've left," the official said.
The pair will also discuss the poisoning of a Russian double agent and his daughter earlier this year in the English city of Salisbury, which London and its allies – including Washington – blamed on Moscow.
Russia has strongly denied the accusation.
