Freedom of Zaghari and Assyrians in exchange for money? Freedom of Zaghari and Assyrians in exchange for money?

With the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anousheh Ashouri from prison and their departure from the country, the foreign ministers of Iran and Britain simultaneously announced that Iran's debt to Britain had been paid. Iran says the two issues are unrelated.

Simultaneously with the release of two Iranian-British citizens, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 43, and Anousheh Ashouri, 67, from prison and their departure from the country, the foreign ministers of Iran and Britain commented on the matter.

According to IRNA, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic, told reporters about the release of Nazanin Zaghari: “We had demanded more than 390 million pounds from the UK before the victory of the Islamic Revolution regarding some defense purchases we had made from this country.” He added: “In the past four months, there have been intensive contacts between me and the British Foreign Secretary, and our goal was to be able to revive these demands so that this amount would be deposited in the Central Bank of Iran.”

Amir Abdollahian stated: "We received this amount a few days ago, but at the same time, legal proceedings and the judicial process to request the release of these two people were ongoing. Perhaps the dates of their release and the deposit of the money were close together in time, but there is no connection between these two issues."

The Foreign Minister says that the release of these two individuals (Nazanin Zaghari and Anousheh Ashouri) was ultimately achieved "with a humane approach in the Islamic Republic of Iran."

Amir Abdollahian said that the news that is being spread about taking money and releasing these people is false and inaccurate.

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss also said before the country's parliament that the change of government in Iran last summer created momentum in the talks between the two countries.

According to the Associated Press, Truss said that after intensive diplomatic efforts mediated by Oman, the issue of Britain's debt to Iran was finally resolved, and London agreed to pay Iran 393.8 million pounds ($515.5 million), provided that the money was spent on humanitarian purposes.

The British Foreign Secretary simultaneously informed the British Parliament of the release of the two British-Iranian citizens and said that they would soon join their families in the United Kingdom.

While the British government also denies that the release of the two Iranian-British citizens is linked to Britain's debt to Iran, Zaghari-Ratcliffe's wife says that Iran held Nazanin Zaghari hostage to pressure London into paying the money.

The latest news indicates that these two Iranian-British citizens have left for London after arriving in Muscat, the capital of Oman.

Freedom of Murad Tahbaz

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss also said: "I can confirm that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anousheh Ashouri will return to the UK today and that Morad Tahbaz has been released from prison on leave. They will be reunited with their families later today."

The British Foreign Secretary also promised that they would “continue their efforts to remove Mr. Tahbaz from Iran.”

Morad Tahbaz has been in Evin Prison since the winter of 2017. He was previously tried by Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, headed by Judge Salavati, along with 7 other defendants in the so-called Environmental Activists case. According to the verdict, Niloufar Bayani and Morad Tahbaz were each sentenced to 10 years in prison, Taher Ghadirian and Hooman Jokar were each sentenced to 8 years in prison, Amir Hossein Khaleghi, Sam Rajabi, and Sepideh Kashani were each sentenced to 6 years in prison, and Abdolreza Koohpayeh was sentenced to 4 years in prison.