US AND UK CALL ON IRAN TO FREE POLITICAL PRISONERS

▶ Appeal made as American senators visiting Abu Dhabi express concern over Tehran’s actions

Reports of the imminent release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe are “not yet accurate”, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said yesterday, as he called on Iran to free political prisoners.

The British government was working intensively to free such detainees, Mr Raab said.

“I would say that it’s incumbent on Iran to unconditionally release those who are held arbitrarily and in our view unlawfully,” Mr Raab said alongside US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in London. Mr Blinken repeated calls for Iran to release political detainees, saying he had “no higher priority than bringing arbitrarily detained Americans home ”.

“We have to take the stand against the arbitrary detention of citizens for political purposes,” he said. “Countries that are engaged in these actions need to know that this cannot happen with impunity, and it is truly unacceptable.” Iran’s use of political prisoners was raised by two members of the US Senate committee on foreign relations during a visit to Abu Dhabi yesterday. Chris Coons and Chris Van Hollen also addressed concerns about nuclear developments in Iran and US efforts to re-engage with Tehran.

“There’s a lot of understandable and legitimate concerns on the part of our partners in the region,” Mr Coons told CNBC.

“And I think we should be prepared to not just re-engage with the Iranians as we have – to negotiate not just a return to the JCPOA … but to have a path forward and a plan for a broader engagement that could bring regional partners together to provide for, as you put it, lowering the temperature,” he said, referring to the 2015 deal placing limits on Iran’s nuclear programme.

While much remains to be discussed at talks in Vienna, the release of dual citizens will be an important topic, Mr Coons said. He said they were being “held hostage by the Iranians as bargaining chips ... one of many ways in which they violate basic human rights”.

Meanwhile, Iran is attempting to influence Scottish voters to support ending Scotland’s political union with England by using fake social media accounts, a think tank said. Tehran is putting “considerable effort” into developing a relationship with Scots who want independence, a report by the Henry Jackson Society said.

Iran is attempting to influence Scottish voters to support ending Scotland’s 314-year-old political union with England by using fake social media accounts, a think tank said.

Tehran is putting “considerable effort” into developing a relationship with Scots who want independence, a report by the Henry Jackson Society in London said.

It is understood that Iran would like to see the union ended as a means of undermining the UK’s power.

With elections to the devolved Scottish Parliament to be held on Thursday, the think tank claimed that cyber specialists working for Iran used false Twitter and Facebook accounts to try to influence voters.

If the ruling Scottish National Party (SNP) wins a majority in Edinburgh, it is possible the process of seeking another independence referendum, the first since 2014, may begin.

“Iran’s activities in cyber space are designed to attack the constitutional integrity of the UK,” the report said.

“There appear to be elements within Iran who are willing to interfere in the UK’s domestic politics to encourage Scottish separatism.”

Facebook closed 446 fake Iranian accounts for breaching its policies against foreign interference in politics.

The report highlighted a history of strong links between Iran and the SNP.

“Several Scottish nationalists have embraced this approach, even visiting the country in search of a future working relationship and developing ties with representatives of the Iranian state at home,” it said.

In 2015, officials from Scottish Development International, the country’s trade and inward investment agency, visited Iran to discuss opportunities in the oil and gas sector.

Iranian activity has been increasingly detected in Scotland in the past year, and the regime “put considerable effort into developing its political relationships with Scottish political elites who advocate independence”, the report said.

But increased focus on the Iran-SNP relationship “disrupted engagement” between Mohammad Shomali, former representative in the UK for Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

“Whilst there is no suggestion that Scottish nationalist politicians have encouraged or endorsed Iran’s interference, it sets a troubling precedent, with the issue of a potential second referendum on Scottish independence a deeply contentious one,” the report said.

The report’s findings were part of a broader investigation into Iran’s destabilising efforts in the UK that will be published later this week.

The Henry Jackson Society’s report says Iran put ‘considerable effort’ into cultivating ties with Scottish politicians