Nazanin zaghari ratcliffe and anoosheh ashouri released by iran

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashouri released by Iran Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashouri, two British-Iranian dual citizens who have been detained in Iran, have been released and are heading to an airport to leave the country, their lawyer has said.

Hojjat Kermani told Reuters that Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 43, and Mr Ashouri, 67, were on their way to an airport in Tehran on Wednesday morning.

Hours before news of their release was announced on Wednesday, Britain's Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said she was doing everything she could to secure the release of three British-Iranians detained in Iran. As well as Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Mr Ashouri, the foreign secretary also mentioned Morad Tahbaz, who has been detained by Iranian authorities since 2018.

She said the government's priority is to pay Iran the £400 million ($522m) debt it owes and reach an agreement with Tehran to allow the British citizens to leave.

There have been signs of progress in delicate negotiations between the UK and Iran in recent days.

Labour MP Tulip Siddiq said on Tuesday that the mother-of-one had been handed back her British passport.

Ms Siddiq, who represents the north London constituency where Mrs ZaghariRatcliffe's husband and daughter live, tweeted on Wednesday that she was "hoping and praying for some more positive news soon".

She later followed it up with another tweet saying: "Nazanin is at the airport in Tehran and on her way home. I came into politics to make a difference, and right now I’m feeling like I have."

Ms Siddiq said Ms Truss is the only foreign secretary in office since 2016 who "actually did something" about negotiating Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe's release and paying the debt Britain owes to Iran. The opposition MP acknowledged it was "quite an achievement" on Ms Truss's part, particularly when her predecessors Philip Hammond, Jeremy Hunt, Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab had all failed in their efforts when they were serving as foreign secretary.

The Foreign Office has not commented on the reports.

Penny Madden, lawyer for the Ratcliffe family in the UK, told Sky News on Wednesday that despite signs of hope no one involved would be able to relax until the detained mother-of-one was back on British soil.

“This morning obviously hopes remain very high," she said. "We still don’t know, we still haven’t had that confirmation so there is enormous anxiety for Richard, for Gabriella, for the family, for Nazanin.

"Until she comes home from that flight nobody will be able to relax. So still very, very optimistic, we don’t know what the delay is, we’re very, very scared, but remain ever optimistic.

“I’ve been in contact with Richard this morning. He is excited but that’s tinged with anxiety. He doesn’t have any visibility into what’s happening at the moment. But we just hope for good news. He is in the UK. “Gabriella is very excited but I think it’s important for everybody to keep it very measured. That excitement has got to be tempered with some expectation we’ve been here before – obviously not at this level but we have had high hopes which have been dashed. We’re just trying to remain very calm and keep abreast of what’s happening.

"Obviously Richard has been in touch with Nazanin and he is trying to control a very excited seven-year-old who just wants her mummy to come home.”

Earlier on Wednesday Mr Johnson said negotiations about Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe's fate were “moving forward” but “going right up to the wire”.

At the Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi during a visit to the UAE on Wednesday, Mr Johnson confirmed there was a British team in the Iranian capital negotiating for her release.

“It is true and it has been for a long time that we’re negotiating for the release of our dual nationals in Tehran,” the prime minister said.

“There are some very sad cases, including Nazanin.

“I really don’t think I should say much more, I’m sorry, although things are moving forward.

“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.”

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's ordeal began in April 2016 when she was detained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard at Imam Khomeini airport after a holiday to her country of birth. The mother-of-one had been visiting her parents in the capital to introduce them to her toddler daughter Gabriella.

The little girl lived with her grandparents for three years while her mother, an aid worker, was detained in Evin Prison before returning to London to live with her father in October 2019.

Mr Ashoori, a retired civil engineer, was arrested in 2017 during a visit to Tehran.

Authorities accused him of spying for Israel, Iran’s arch-enemy, and sentenced him to 10 years in prison, plus an extra two for "illicitly acquiring money".