Iran holding mother as £400m ‘collateral’
Britain is understood to be preparing to try to unlock a frozen account to transfer £400million to Iran owed from an arms deal made with the Shah in the Seventies, in an effort to secure “goodwill”. It comes as Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, promised to do “everything” he could to release Nazanin Zaghari-ratcliffe amid claims that the jailed British mother is being held as “collateral”. Diplomats believe handing over the money could help speed up Mrs Zaghari-ratcliffe’s release from prison.
BRITAIN is preparing to transfer £400million to Iran to secure “goodwill”, The Daily Telegraph understands, as the Foreign Secretary vowed yesterday to do “everything” he could to release Nazanin Zaghari-ratcliffe.
Officials have sought legal advice on how to circumvent US and United Nations sanctions that have so far prevented them from handing over the money, amid claims the British mother is being held as “collateral”.
It came as an Iranian news agency reported that Boris Johnson is due to visit the country next week.
Senior Whitehall sources have told The Daily Telegraph that while the Government is at pains to ensure the payment is not directly linked with Ms Zaghari-ratcliffe’s imprisonment, work has intensified in recent months in a bid to improve relations with Iran.
Diplomats believe handing over the money could help speed up Ms Zaghari-ratcliffe’s release from jail. The money has been in Britain since a controversial arms deal with Iran during the Seventies. However, it is being held in an account frozen by the courts and Britain agrees it should be returned.
Boris Johnson met with Ms Zaghariratcliffe’s husband for the first time yesterday, and they agreed that lawyers would meet in the coming weeks to discuss the possibility of diplomatic protection for her.
Mr Ratcliffe believes it would help to ensure his wife’s safe passage out of Iran, but an Iranian news agency yesterday cast doubt on the claim, quoting a lawyer warning any attempt to assert her British citizenship would “trigger off Iran’s severe reaction”.
Mr Johnson and Mr Ratcliffe also discussed the possibility of travelling to the country together but no date has been confirmed for the trip, officials said. Mr Johnson said “no stone would be left unturned” in his bid to ensure her safe return.
Earlier in the week he apologised for the “distress and suffering” he caused to Ms Zaghari-ratcliffe by telling MPS that she was training journalists in Iran at the time of her arrest. Mr Ratcliffe said the Foreign Secretary’s remarks had “raised the stakes”.
In a bid to improve relations with Iran, ministers have been working on ways to build trust, as the Prime Minister yesterday vowed to offer any assistance needed to the country in the wake of a devastating earthquake.
Whitehall sources confirmed that a package of measures has been drawn up and lawyers are working on how to implement it. The measures include the transfer of the outstanding arms deal cash.
It came as two senior Government sources separately confirmed fears that Ms Zaghari-ratcliffe is being held as “collateral” in a bid to get the money released. A similar situation in America resulted in Barack Obama flying millions of dollars in used euro notes to Iran in 2016, after which five US citizens were released from detention.
One diplomatic source with knowledge of Ms Zaghari-ratcliffe’s case said that while the money cannot legally be directly linked to her release, “building a strong relationship and trust is the key to securing her safe return”.
The money is a result of an arms deal struck almost 40 years ago when the Government agreed to sell 1,500 Chieftain tanks to the Iranians through Intenational Military Services (IMS) and repair a further 250, for which they paid £650million up front. But in 1979 the Shah was deposed, the deal was halted and Britain kept the money.
In 2010, Iran won an EU court ruling for the return of £400million but sanctions have since prevented the transfer.
A Government spokesman said: “This is a long-standing case and relates to contracts signed over 40 years ago with the pre-revolution Iranian regime. Funding to settle the debt was paid to the High Court by the Treasury and IMS in 2002. Iran’s ministry of defence remains subject to EU sanctions.”