Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s husband: She is ‘extremely angry’ about collapsed Iran-Britain agreement

The husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, an Iranian-British citizen imprisoned in Iran, says his wife is “extremely angry” about the collapse of a London-Tehran agreement for her release.

Richard Ratcliffe said on Sunday, February 13, that his wife is concerned her life has become a bargaining tool in nuclear negotiations and is upset about the British government’s lack of transparency in securing her freedom.

These remarks follow the revelation of a failed Iran-Britain agreement to settle Britain’s £400 million debt to Iran in exchange for Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s release this past summer.

The Guardian reported on Sunday, citing Ratcliffe’s statement, that British parliamentary representatives have been informed that the British government came close to an agreement with the Islamic Republic to release Zaghari-Ratcliffe in exchange for settling the debt last summer, but the agreement fell apart.

British authorities had not previously reported on this agreement, but Mohsen Baharvand, Iran’s ambassador to London, said on December 10 that a British delegation had traveled to Tehran the previous week to discuss mechanisms for paying the £400 million debt.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson did not deny the existence of the agreement on February 1 in response to a question from British MP Tulip Siddiq, saying: “Settling Iran’s debt is difficult for various reasons related to sanctions.”

Siddiq had told parliament that Ratcliffe went on a hunger strike for three weeks to the brink of death, and the British government should clarify the collapse of an agreement made with the Islamic Republic for Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s release from prison.

Ratcliffe began a hunger strike on October 22 but announced on November 13 that he would end his three-week hunger strike outside the British Foreign Office building for the sake of their daughter, Gabriella.

Britain’s debt to Iran is related to the cancellation of a contract to sell 1,500 Chieftain tanks to Tehran; a contract that was concluded between Iran and Britain during the Pahlavi era but was terminated after the revolution.

This debt is linked to the cases of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, an Iranian-British citizen, and other dual British nationals whom the Islamic Republic has tried and imprisoned.

Families of dual British nationals detained in Iran have repeatedly said they believe the Islamic Republic will keep their family members as “hostages” until this debt is settled.

Ratcliffe continued, saying his wife has lost six years of her life in Iranian prisons and wonders why the British government is not doing anything for her release: “She asks why I am still here (in Iranian prisons). They (Islamic Republic officials) destroyed my life day by day. So where is the urgency (the British government) announced for her release? I just want to go home.”

Ratcliffe says he was hopeful that with a Britain-Iran agreement, his wife would be freed, but he does not know why the agreement did not materialize and why no action is being taken now to bring it to fruition.

A British Foreign Office spokesperson told the Guardian that the government remains committed to ensuring the freedom of Zaghari-Ratcliffe and other imprisoned British citizens in Iran, including Anoosheh Ashouri and Morad Tahbaz.

The spokesperson added that the British government has consistently stated it is committed to paying Iran’s debt and is examining ways it can settle this obligation.

In recent years, Iran’s government has arrested numerous foreign nationals and dual Iranian citizens on various charges including espionage, cooperation with foreign security agencies, or actions against the system, and some of these individuals have been exchanged for Iranian prisoners in other countries.

This practice of Iran’s government has been repeatedly condemned by governments and human rights organizations around the world and has been described as “hostage-taking” and “extortion” with the aim of “advancing political objectives.”

Source: Radio Farda