Case of jailed British mother on Boris Johnson's rare Tehran agenda
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — During a rare trip by a British foreign minister to Iran, Boris Johnson will advocate for Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe who has been detained since 2016 for "allegedly plotting to topple the Iranian regime."
The Foreign Office said in a statement that Johnson would meet with Iran's foreign minister, Mohammed Javad Zarif, on Saturday to discuss "a number of consular cases involving dual nationals," along with other bilateral issues.
“The Foreign Secretary will urge the Iranians to release dual nationals where there are humanitarian grounds to do so,” a British foreign office spokesman added.
A prosecutor in Tehran has stated Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a 38-year-old, specifically was being held for using a BBC Persian online journalism course to train and recruit people for anti-Iran propaganda.
Johnson has faced increasing pressure to advocate on Zaghari-Ratcliffe's behalf after a political gaffe.
He erroneously said during a parliamentary select committee in November that Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been "training journalists" in Iran. Johnson quickly backpedaled from the remarks, but not before the Iranian government used his comments as support for their allegations.
The Iranian High Council's website ran a story headlined 'UK confirms Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was not in Iran for holiday ... [Johnson's] statement shows that Nazanin had visited the country for anything but a holiday.'
Zaghari-Ratcliffe is a project manager for a charitable foundation for Thomson Reuters. She denies the charges and maintains that she and her then 3-year-old daughter were in Iran visiting family.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been told she will appear in court on Sunday, her husband Richard told Reuters.
The British daily The Guardian reported Johnson will also discuss banking and bilateral relations on his Saturday visit.
"In the visit, the latest developments in bilateral relations especially the two countries' high level economic cooperation, expansion of trade ties, regional and international developments will be discussed," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Bahram Qasemi told the Islamic Republic’s state-run IRNA news agency.
Johnson also plans to travel to Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
The Foreign Office said in a statement that Johnson would meet with Iran's foreign minister, Mohammed Javad Zarif, on Saturday to discuss "a number of consular cases involving dual nationals," along with other bilateral issues.
“The Foreign Secretary will urge the Iranians to release dual nationals where there are humanitarian grounds to do so,” a British foreign office spokesman added.
A prosecutor in Tehran has stated Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a 38-year-old, specifically was being held for using a BBC Persian online journalism course to train and recruit people for anti-Iran propaganda.
Johnson has faced increasing pressure to advocate on Zaghari-Ratcliffe's behalf after a political gaffe.
He erroneously said during a parliamentary select committee in November that Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been "training journalists" in Iran. Johnson quickly backpedaled from the remarks, but not before the Iranian government used his comments as support for their allegations.
The Iranian High Council's website ran a story headlined 'UK confirms Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was not in Iran for holiday ... [Johnson's] statement shows that Nazanin had visited the country for anything but a holiday.'
Zaghari-Ratcliffe is a project manager for a charitable foundation for Thomson Reuters. She denies the charges and maintains that she and her then 3-year-old daughter were in Iran visiting family.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been told she will appear in court on Sunday, her husband Richard told Reuters.
The British daily The Guardian reported Johnson will also discuss banking and bilateral relations on his Saturday visit.
"In the visit, the latest developments in bilateral relations especially the two countries' high level economic cooperation, expansion of trade ties, regional and international developments will be discussed," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Bahram Qasemi told the Islamic Republic’s state-run IRNA news agency.
Johnson also plans to travel to Oman and the United Arab Emirates.