Hoping for Nazanin to be released soon

THERE are reports that the Iranian authorities may be thinking of releasing the British-Iranian woman Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who has been accused of spying.

If that turns out to be the case, it will be a good outcome not only for Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her family, but also for Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.

Hers is a very human plight: separated from her family, unable to see her husband because he cannot travel to Iran, and only able to receive short visits from her threeyear-old daughter, all parents will have sympathy with her.

The lack of clarity about the charges she would face at trial is a further cause for concern.

But there is a political element to the case that has made things even more difficult for her.

It was Mr Johnson’s erroneous statement that she was in Iran to train journalists when in fact she was there on holiday that put her at risk of having her potential prison sentence increased.

Part of the Foreign Secretary’s role is essentially to be the UK Government’s chief diplomat.

In that capacity he has to deal with regimes across the world, many of which do not do things in the same way as us.

It’s the Foreign Secretary’s duty to bear such cultural differences – some subtle, some not so subtle – in mind when interacting with other governments.

Mr Johnson’s blundering assertion that Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe had gone to Iran to train journalists was a very dangerous error.

It contradicted her own explanation as to why she had travelled to the country with her daughter: that she was there simply to visit relatives.

The authorities in Iran are split over contacts with the West. While some members of the administration want to develop a more normal relationship, hardliners are antagonistic towards such moves and will seize on any opportunity to undermine them.

We can conclude that Mr Johnson is most anxious to avoid a situation where he can be accused of being directly responsible for the extension of a vulnerable woman’s period in jail.

Recently he visited Iran and held talks with government officials. It is likely that in return for reviewing the case of Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the Foreign Secretary had to offer support to the Iranians over an issue they see as important: that’s the way diplomacy works.

Most likely, it relates to the ongoing saga concerning the country’s nuclear capability.

With President Trump having sought unilaterally to tear up an international agreement on the matter with Iran, the Iranians want other Western countries to stand by what had previously been negotiated.

Further concessions may also have been sought, and after his acknowledged blunder Mr Johnson has been in a less powerful negotiating position.

Caught in the middle of what could easily turn into a serious international crisis, we hope Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s release will not be long in coming. The Western Mail newspaper is published by Media Wales a subsidiary company of Trinity Mirror PLC, which is a member of IPSO, the Independent Press Standards Organisation. The entire contents of The Western Mail are the copyright of Media Wales Ltd. It is an offence to copy any of its contents in any way without the company’s permission. If you require a licence to copy parts of it in any way or form, write to the Head of Finance at Six Park Street. The recycled paper content of UK newspapers in 2016 was 62.8%