UK thanks Oman for help securing Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's release

UK says Oman provided 'invaluable assistance'

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe reunited with her husband, Richard Ratcliffe, and their daughter, Gabriella, after being held for six years in Iran. Photo: @TulipSiddiq via Twitter

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori, centre, with their families. Photo: @lilika49 via Twitter

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe with her daughter at RAF Brize Norton airbase. EPA

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe with her daughter Gabriella, husband Richard and British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss at RAF Brize Norton. EPA

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori were released in March 2022. Reuters

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Mr Ashoori with the cabin crew in Brize Norton. Reuters

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Mr Ashoori as their plane flies over London. Reuters

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe sits in a plane en route to London after taking off from Teheran. Reuters

Mr Ashoori gestures as he sits in the plane heading to London. Reuters

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested in Tehran in April 2016 as she prepared to fly back to the UK, having taken her daughter Gabriella to see relatives. AFP

She was accused of plotting to overthrow the Iranian government and sentenced to five years in jail, spending four years in Tehran’s Evin Prison and one under house arrest. Photo: Tulip Siddiq / Twitter

Richard Ratcliffe with daughter Gabriella outside their house in London on Wednesday. AFP

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Mr Ashoori arrive in Oman en route to the UK. Photo: @badralbusaidi / Twitter

Mr Ratcliffe went on a hunger strike in October 2021 in protest at the UK government’s failure to secure his wife's release. AFP

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe boards a plane as she prepares to leave Tehran. Reuters

Mr Ratcliffe told the media that the family plan to find solace elsewhere for a few days. Reuters

Gabriella was not yet two when her mother was arrested. Photo: Tulip Siddiq / Twitter

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has thanked the Sultan of Oman for his help in securing the freedom of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashouri from Iran.

He spoke to Haitham bin Tarik, the Sultan of Oman, on Tuesday afternoon, Downing Street said.

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Mr Ashoori, 67, a retired engineer, returned to the UK last week after the British government paid off a debt of nearly £400 million ($523m) to Iran.

“The prime minister spoke to the Sultan of Oman, Haitham bin Tarik Al Said, this afternoon,” a UK government spokesperson said.

“He thanked the Sultan and the government of Oman for their invaluable assistance in securing the release of British nationals Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashouri from Iran, highlighting it as an example of the UK and Oman’s successful and enduring partnership.”

The release of a third prisoner, Morad Tahbaz, is also understood to have been part of the deal but he was banned from leaving Iran.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe holds a press conference hosted by her local Member of Parliament Tulip Siddiq, in Portcullis House, London, after her release from detention in Iran. PA

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe, pictured with her husband Richard Ratcliffe, called for the release of other dual citizens still held in Iran. PA

'What's happened now should have happened six years ago,' she said of her own case. 'I’m not going to let the torch be put down until they [other dual citizens held in Iran] are back home with their families.' PA

MP Tulip Siddiq, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, her daughter Gabriella and her husband Richard Ratcliffe, alongside Speaker of the House of Commons Lindsay Hoyle. AFP

Lindsay Hoyle welcomes Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe to the House of Commons in Westminster, London. EPA

'I was told many, many times we’re going to get you home,' she said of her six-year ordeal. 'That never happened.' AFP

Lindsay Hoyle gives a present to Gabriella. Her mother said: 'It has been cruel what happened to me.' AFP

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 43, was arrested in April 2016 and spent four years behind bars before she was released from Evin jail. She spent another two years under effective house arrest, unable to leave the country until the deal between Britain and Iran was concluded.

Mr Ashouri was arrested by Iranian authorities in August 2017 during a visit to his homeland to see his mother. In August 2019, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison on spying charges.

Their freedom came as world leaders try to negotiate the return of both Iran and the US to a 2015 deal that limits Tehran's nuclear programme while lifting sanctions.

Since she returned home last week, Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe has spoken of her pleasure at braiding and brushing her daughter's hair.

“I shouldn't have been in prison for six years,” said Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe. “I think I think we have we have gone through a lot. It has been a tough journey.

“Coming back was also very tough … coming back to a daughter who is nearly eight, I left her when she was not even two.”

Reflecting on her return to the UK, she said she was “overwhelmed” when she landed.

Richard Ratcliffe, who led a campaign for his wife’s freedom, paid tribute to her during a press conference on Monday after what he said was “a long struggle”.

Mr Ratcliffe thanked everyone for “making us whole again” and said it is “nice to be retiring” from his campaigning.

The UK and Oman leaders, in their meeting, also shared concerns over the war in Ukraine and the conflict in Yemen.

“The leaders shared their deep concerns about the brutal Russian offensive in Ukraine, agreeing that attacks on civilians must be stopped,” the UK spokesperson said.

“They discussed efforts to improve global energy security in the wake of the crisis, including by boosting our existing cooperation in renewable energy and green technology."