Richard Ratcliffe is the husband of an Iranian-Iranian woman who was held in Iran. He today celebrated a “breakthrough” when an Iranian delegation met UK officials in London.
Nazanin Zaghari Rathcliffe’s husband has expressed gratitude for the ‘breakthrough’ that was made today when Iran’s deputy Foreign Minister met British officials in London.
However, Richard Ratcliffe questioned why the UK is refusing to pay a £400million debt it owes Tehran over tanks ordered before the 1979 revolution.
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who is living with her parents in Tehran, was jailed for five years in 2016 on trumped-up charges of plotting to overthrow the Iranian government. The 43-year old charity worker was also charged with propagandism after her release. Alle allegations against her are strong denied.
Iranian authorities told her she was in jail because of Britain’s failure to make its payments. A 2008 international arbitration decision ruled that Britain owes Iran its debt. However, London failed to pay the debt and talks between the two countries broke down in the summer.
Ali Bagheri Kani, the Iranian deputy foreign minister, has come to the UK to meet Foreign Office officials to discuss a range of issues including the terms for the American return to the nuclear agreement abandoned by Donald Trump in 2018. Following the meeting with Mr Ratcliffe, James Cleverly will visit him at Foreign Office.
Mr Ratcliffe is on his nineteenth day on hunger strike outside the Foreign Office in an attempt to persuade it to pay the debt. He also protests The Government handled the case well, while earlier criticizing the Prime Minister’s ‘cold decision to permit the regime to continue ‘arbitrarily detaining’ UK citizens.
He pointed out that the Iranian regime rejected his wife’s appeal against the sentence and suggested that the Iranians “aren’t convinced” and are ready to show their claws.
Jeremy Hunt also called on the UK to settle its £400million debt to Iran in order to secure Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s release. Former Foreign Secretary called Iran “an absolutely despicable dictatorship that supports terrorism throughout the Middle East”. However, Jeremy Hunt said Iran had ‘linked’ her case to the PS400million debt and stated that it was only practicalities, rather than principles, which prevented the repayment.
Radio 4 Today’s Mr Ratcliffe stated that his case was linked to the larger manoeuvres. Although we are part of the bargaining chips about the debt, it is only one piece in a larger story about Iran’s end-of-sanctions and how everyone wants to revive the Iran nuclear agreement. This has many moving parts, and it is becoming more complex.
He said, “The Prime Minster back when he used to be Foreign Secretary had promised that he would pay it.” When we first met him, he was also keen to get Nazanin back and stated that we would leave no stone unturned.
“I have had direct conversations with the Foreign Secretary and received letters from the Defense Secretary. So there’s a bit of head scratching about why it hasn’t been solved.” We reached out to Liz Truss as Foreign Secretary but she refused to answer.
“My concern is that Iran will not be persuaded, and they are ready to use their claws. Looking for some sort of breakthrough. A hunger strike is intended to bring about change and help move the country forward.
Before Thursday’s meeting, the Foreign Office spokesperson stated: “We will urge Iran that they take advantage of this opportunity to rapidly conclude the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPoA] deal at the table.”
“We will use this occasion to press again for the immediate release our unfairly detained British citizens.”
Richard Ratcliffe, Nazanin Zaghari -Ratcliffe’s husband, is continuing his hunger strike in London outside of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
Right, Jeremy Hunt told Radio 4’s Today that London should repay its Iranian debt because Iran ‘links’ the money with Mr Ratcliffe’s case. Outside the Foreign Office, left Mr Ratcliffe
Ratcliffe protests also the Government’s handling. He earlier criticised Prime Minister Boris Johnson over his “cold decision” to let the regime continue arbitrarily detaining British nationals
It is, Mr Hunt stated. It was difficult for Iran to send the money due to existing sanctions.
Today was told by the former Foreign Secretary: “We have agreements with all kinds of countries around the globe, some more nice than others, but we pay our debts.”
“If it was ransom money, I would say we shouldn’t pay it. Richard has heard me tell Richard that, no matter how painful, as you encourage hostage-taking.
“But, this isn’t ransom money. This is a default. This has been confirmed by an international court. It was confirmed by Defence Secretary. The Defence Secretary has said that we must pay it as it is an irritation to our relations.
He added: ‘There are practical issues with sanctions, but those are things that you can sometimes get around, if you, for example, gave £400million worth of medicines or something like that.
“There are political considerations as well, like you might expect, from people such as the United States. But, given the fact that Obama paid America’s Iranian debts in the exact same circumstances, it seems unlikely that we’d have the same objections from Biden that we may have from Trump.”
Ratcliffe stated that his rejection of the appeal by his wife was an indication from Iran that they aren’t ready to wait and will take whatever action is necessary.
“Is this going be a wake up call for the government? He suggested that maybe, perhaps not.
‘One of my problems with this government is that it does not deal with problems until crises become crisis. Iran threatens a crisis. We hope that the Government will consider this serious.
He said on Monday that he was feeling and looking more rough than usual. Although I’m not hungry, I feel colder. This is a temporary tactic. The risk of falling into a coma is too high.
He stated that his body will be the one to decide when to end his hunger strike.
He said, “At this stage I will need to start listening and paying attention to my body.” I spent most days sitting down over the weekend. It was really hard to charge the batteries. The problem with hunger strikes is that you are more likely to be stubborn, and less flexible when you let things go.
Sky News was told by Mr Ratcliffe that his demands included the UK paying Iran money.
Prior to the revolution of 1979, relations between the UK and Iran were close. London offered support to Tehran for oil concessions.
Despite the fact that the relationship could sometimes be strained (e.g. the 1953 CIA coup against Mohammad Mosaddegh, who had nationalized the oil industries), the Shah was still considered an ally. The Shah is also suitable for arm sales.
From 1971 to 1976, the Shah was faced with the rise of Arab nationalists in Iraq and elsewhere and ordered 1,500 Chieftain battle tanks and 250 repair vehicles from the UK. The total cost £650million, and the Shah paid it upfront rather than on delivery.
The UK delivered 185 tanks before the revolution, when the Shah fled the country and Ayatollah Khomeini established his theocratic state.
Britain ended all diplomatic relations with Iran and refused to ship the Iranian tanks it had purchased. Britain refused to return the money requested by Iran.
A legal battle lasting 40 years then ensued, leading to a decision in 2008 that Britain should repay the money. However, London failed to pay it back and talks between the two countries ended in the summer.
International Military Services Ltd., the Iranian state-owned firm, made the agreement. The British Treasury also agreed to hold the balance at the High Courts starting in 2002.
However, the money never made its way to Tehran, sitting instead in an independent trust in the UK because London is bound by international sanctions on Iran.
Though some of these were lifted by Barack Obama’s nuclear deal, sending money to Tehran would be a breach of the united front shown by global powers including France, Germany and Russia.
Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, stated earlier in this year that it was right that we should honor that debt. According to him, Times Radio spoke about the situation and said: “What we have clearly stated is that we follow law and the rule law…we should honor that debt and find ways to return Iran to it.”
“Ofcourse, Iran has obviously indulged hostage-taking diplomacy avec a number of nations, including the United Kingdom. This makes life difficult for many.
There are also sanctions. These sanctions can be regulated by law. It would be unreasonable to expect me to violate sanctions to resolve this issue.
“We need to figure out a way that we can legally keep our debts in good standing, but still comply with the sanctions. This is something I really believe in.
Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of Nazanin Zaghari – Ratcliffe, is continuing his hunger strike outside London’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
Since 16 days, he protests at Whitehall against the government’s treatment of his wife (pictured), incarceration and release in Iran.
A 2008 international arbitration decision ruled that Iran owes Britain the debt. Pictured: Mr Ratcliffe’s camp
KeirStarmer, Labour’s leader (left), meets with Tulip Siddiq.
Claudia Winkleman, Victoria Coren Mitchell and Mr Ratcliffe as they speak to each other
Mr Ratcliffe said: ‘I think that the UK should repay the debt – that’s why Nazanin was taken. Unpaid debt is what has caused us to lose five and a half years, while others have been taken.
He said that the UK should also be more aggressive in its treatment of Iranian citizens being held prisoner by Britain.
He stated that Iran must be harder on hostage-taking. For example, Iran’s vice president has been hosted in Glasgow this week and is being wined-and-dined. It should be challenged that Iran’s state continues to operate as usual after UK citizens are taken hostage.
He said, “I don’t believe that the Government’s approach to hostage taking is effective. Five-and-a half years show that.”
Presenter Victoria Coren Mitchell stood outside the Foreign Office Monday supporting Ratcliffe during his strike.
She declared that we cannot ignore it and called Mr Ratcliffe a hero.
She’s not alone, other hostages are also there. Gabriella is the perfect, beautiful child. I am familiar with her family. However, she still needs her mom.
Nazanin is an innocent woman and needs to be reunited with her family.