UK official in Iran to discuss fate of detainees

TEHERAN: British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson arrived in Teheran, where he is expected to discuss the fate of detained dual nationals, including a woman serving a fiveyear prison sentence for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government.

The British Foreign Office said Johnson would meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif to discuss “a number of consular cases involving dual nationals”, along with other bilateral issues.

Johnson is in Teheran as part of a threenation Gulf tour, which the Foreign Office said was focused on the Iran nuclear deal and “how to bring an end to the conflict in Yemen”.

Efforts to free Nazanin ZaghariRatcliffe, a charity worker who has been held since April 2016, are believed to top Johnson’s agenda.

Johnson complicated those efforts earlier this year by saying incorrectly that she was training journalists when arrested. He has since apologised.

ZaghariRatcliffe’s husband says she faces trial on new charges today that carry the possibility of an additional 16 years imprisonment, but Iranian judiciary spokesman Gholamhosein Mohseni Ejehi said last month that her verdict has been finalised.

Just ahead of Johnson’s visit, Iran’s staterun English broadcaster PressTV reaired a documentary accusing ZaghariRatcliffe of planning the “soft toppling” of Iran’s government. Her family has denied the allegations.

London is considering paying Teheran some £400mil (RM2.19mil) from a pre1979 arms deal.

Both sides say the money isn’t related to ZaghariRatcliffe, though the United States made a similar payment as Iran released four US citizens in 2016.