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Hunt calls for Ratcliffe release
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has called for the immediate release of British nationals detained in Iran.
The Foreign Secretary is visiting Iran for the first time and will also hold talks with Iranian leaders about preserving the 2015 nuclear deal and Iran’s role in the conflict in Syria and Yemen.
In a strongly worded statement, Hunt said “putting innocent people in prison cannot and must not be used as a tool of diplomatic leverage.” He called for the release of British nationals saying “We must see those innocent British-Iranian dual nationals imprisoned in Iran returned to their families in Britain. I have just heard too many heartbreaking stories from families who have been forced to endure a terrible separation.” The most high profile case is that of Nazanine Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian woman who works for the Thomson Reuters Foundation. She was arrested at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini airport in April 2016 and later sentenced to five years in prison for espionage.
Foreign Office sources told media that during his meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, the Foreign Secretary will stress that the UK is committed to the nuclear deal, so long as Iran continues to follow the conditions that were set. He will also discuss European efforts to protect European companies from US sanctions. Hunt said: “We will stick to our side of the bargain as long as Iran does. But we also need to see an end to destabilising activity by Iran in the rest of the region.”
Iran currently deploys 3,000 military personnel and combat troops, mainly from the Revolutionary Guard, in Syria and provides $700 million a year in funds, weapons and ammunition to Hezbollah.
The Foreign Secretary is also expected to express his concern at reports that Iran has supplied ballistic missiles and weapons to the Houthis in Yemen, in violation of security council resolutions. The UK will propose a draft resolution at the UN security council today, setting out plans for a ceasefire and talks between the different parties fighting in Yemen.