Boris to use diplomacy to fix Iran jail blunder

Ministers are considering offering Nazanin Zaghariratcliffe “diplomatic protection” as a possible way of speeding her release from jail in Iran.

Mrs Zaghari-ratcliffe was arrested last year on a visit to her parents in Iran.

She was subsequently handed a five-year sentence on allegations of spying and attempting to topple the Iranian regime.

Mrs Zaghari-ratcliffe was last week threatened with an extension to her jail term after Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson incorrectly claimed she had gone to the country to train journalists.

Her husband Richard Ratcliffe, who said his wife was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, appealed to be allowed to join Mr Johnson on a trip to Iran planned for the end of this year in a phone discussion with the Foreign Secretary.

Mr Ratcliffe declined to join calls for Mr Johnson to resign over his gaffe, which was seized upon by Iranian judicial authorities as an admission of Mrs Zaghariratcliffe’s guilt.

There was no immediate explanation from the Foreign Office of what “diplomatic protection” status could mean for Mrs Zaghari-ratcliffe.

Theresa May’s official spokesman said the diplomatic status was “one of the options” being considered in the case.