Boris Johnson has arrived in Iran to meet foreign minister Javad Narif for talks to free Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British woman arrested in 2016 accused of spying.
The mother-of-one is serving a five-year prison sentence for allegedly planning the ‘soft toppling’ of Iran’s government, and has been imprisoned since April 2016.
Mr Johnson’s mission to Iran could see Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe set free for Christmas, her husband Richard Ratcliffe hopes.
Boris Johnson has arrived in Iran to meet foreign minister Javad Narif (pictured) for talks to free Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British woman arrested in 2016 accused of spying
The trip is the third by a UK Foreign Secretary since 2003 and is intended to ‘lay the groundwork’ for the release of Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe
Mr Johnson’s trip to Tehran on Saturday is only the third by a UK Foreign Secretary since 2003 and comes at a time of tension in the Middle East over Donald Trump’s announcement that he is recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
In wide-ranging talks with Iran’s foreign minister, Mr Johnson will seek to shore up bilateral relations and urge Tehran to stick by the terms of its 2015 nuclear deal.
But the primary goal is to ‘lay the groundwork’ for the release of the British Iranian mother-of-one before Christmas.
‘I think it’s realistic she could be home for Christmas, I am hopeful,’ husband Richard Ratcliffe told The Sun.
Mr Johnson requested to visit Nazanin during his visit, a move welcomed by her husband.
‘The Foreign Office weren’t sure if he would be allowed to but it it is definitely good that he is there before she appears in court,’ Mr Ratcliffe added.
Mr Johnson’s trip to Tehran on Saturday is only the third by a UK Foreign Secretary since 2003 and comes at a time of tension in the Middle East over Donald Trump’s announcement that he is recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel
In wide-ranging talks with Iran’s foreign minister, Mr Johnson will seek to shore up bilateral relations and urge Tehran to stick by the terms of its 2015 nuclear deal
The threats to increase her sentence by five years came following Mr Johnson’s gaffe of telling a parliamentary committee she had been in Iran to train journalists (alongside British ambassador to Tehran Nicholas Hopton, left)
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, of Hampstead, North London, could see her five year sentence doubled following fresh charges, having been arrested in 2016 during a holiday visit to show her baby daughter Gabriella to her parents.
Her husband said that by Tuesday or Wednesday of the coming week, he would know the likelihood of having his wife home for Christmas.
The threats to increase her sentence by five years came following a gaffe made by Mr Johnson, where he told a parliamentary committee she had been in Iran to train journalists. He later acknowledged this was not the case.
It is understood that Mr Ratcliffe has not accompanied Mr Johnson on his trip after receiving advice that it may not help his chances of seeing his wife in prison.
Iranian Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani with Mr Johnson
Just ahead of Johnson’s visit, Iran’s state-run English broadcaster PressTV re-aired a documentary accusing Zaghari-Ratcliffe of planning the ‘soft toppling’ of Iran’s government. Her family has denied the allegations
Johnson met first with Zarif. The state-run IRNA news agency said he would meet Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and other top officials during his visit (pictured speaking with an interpreter)
Tehran does not recognise Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s dual UK-Iranian nationality, and refuses access to her for representatives of the British authorities, making a prison visit for the Foreign Secretary unlikely during the trip.
Mr Johnson said he wanted the visit to be ‘constructive’, however he admitted that ‘on many issues we will not agree’ despite improvements to relations in recent years.
He said: ‘Iran is a significant country in a strategically important, but volatile and unstable, region which matters to the UK’s security and prosperity.
Johnson is in Tehran as part of a three-nation Gulf tour, which the Foreign Office said was focused on the Iran nuclear deal and ‘how to bring an end to the conflict in Yemen.’
Iran supports Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who are at war with a Saudi-led coalition, but it denies arming them. That’s despite both Saudi Arabia and the U.S. accusing Iran of supplying the Houthis with ballistic missiles, including one the rebels used to target Riyadh on November 4
Mr Johnson’s mission to Iran could see Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe set free for Christmas , her husband Richard Ratcliffe hopes. Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was visiting her parents in Iran with her young daughter Gabriella when she was arrested by the Revolutionary Guard in Tehran Airport
The mother-of-one is serving a five-year prison sentence for allegedly planning the ‘soft toppling’ of Iran’s government, and has been imprisoned since April 2016. Husband Richard Ratcliffe said he’s hopeful his wife will be freed by Christmas
‘My first visit is an opportunity to hold further discussions on a series of crucial issues, including how we can find a political solution to the devastating conflict in Yemen and secure greater humanitarian access to ease the immense suffering there.
‘I will also underline the UK’s continued support for the nuclear deal while making clear our concerns about some of Iran’s activity in the region.
‘We will also discuss our bilateral relationship and I will stress my grave concerns about our dual national consular cases and press for their release where there are humanitarian grounds to do so.’
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, of Hampstead, North London, could see her five year sentence doubled following fresh charges, having been arrested in 2016 during a holiday visit to show her baby daughter Gabriella to her parents
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s case is one of a small number of cases of dual nationals whose release Britain is seeking on humanitarian grounds on which Mr Johnson will push for progress
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s case is one of a small number of cases of dual nationals whose release Britain is seeking on humanitarian grounds on which Mr Johnson will push for progress.
The Foreign Office has declined to name the other individuals involved – or even identify the number in jail – after their families asked for their cases to be kept out of the public eye.
Relations with Iran have been strained in recent years, despite the reopening of the UK embassy in Tehran in 2015, but London has detected possible signs of greater openness to dialogue in recent months.