British nationals should not be used as ‘political leverage’ by Iran

LONDON: British dual nationals such as Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe should not be used as “political leverage” by Iranian authorities, a Government minister has said.

Foreign Office minister James Cleverly said ongoing legal disputes between the UK and Iran should be kept separate from the “arbitrary detention” of prisoners in Tehran. It comes after Iranian state TV suggested Britain would pay a £400 million debt to secure the release of Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe, citing an anonymous official.

But UK officials have since downplayed the idea that payment of the debt would mean Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s imminent release and Mr Cleverly said recent reports out of Iran had been “inaccurate”.

“We have always said that British dual nationals should not be used as political leverage,” Mr Cleverly told Sky News. “We have also seen a number of occasions where the Iranian regime have used disinformation, we’re hearing inaccurate reports coming out over the last couple of days.

“On the one hand, they are saying that these proceedings are legitimate, we don’t agree with that at all, but then

also saying that they are linked to this legal dispute – it can’t be both. “We’re making it very, very clear. It is in the hands of the Tehran regime to release these people and they should be released.”