Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe Used As A Bargaining Chip Over £400m Owed To iran

28 May 2019, 20:50

The fate of a British-Iranian woman in prison in Iran is linked to £400m owed to the country by the British government, her husband claims.

The husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has told LBC that his wife will not be released from prison until the British government pays Iran £400m.

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe is in an Iranian prison accused of plotting to topple the Iranian government

Speaking to Iain Dale her husband Richard Ratcliffe said his wife was being held as a "bargaining chip" over £400m which the British government owes to Iran relating to a 30-year-old sale of more than 1,500 Chieftain tanks and armoured vehicles.

Mr Ratcliffe said he would like to see both countries honour their "legal obligations."

Telling LBC there was "clearly a breakdown of trust" between Iran and the UK, Mr Ratcliffe said Nazanin's interrogators and the judge in charge of her parole had told him that she would "not be released until the money has been paid."

The Guardian reported the Ministry of Defence rejected a plea from the Foreign Office to hand over concerns the money would end up in the hands of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps.

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was convicted in Iran in September 2016 on spying charges and was allegedly told by military interrogators that her case was linked to the dispute.