British Prime Minister Calls for Resolution of Detained British Citizens' Cases in Iran

On Tuesday, August 9, the British Prime Minister expressed concern during a phone call with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani regarding the detention of dual nationals, including Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, and called for resolution of their cases. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe holds dual Iranian and British citizenship and works for the Thomson Reuters Foundation (a charity linked to Reuters). According to her husband, she traveled to Iran with her young child to visit family and was arrested at Tehran airport on April 4 while attempting to leave Iran. Reuters reported that during the phone call on Tuesday, Prime Minister Theresa May raised the issue of the detention of dual Iranian-British nationals, including Ms. Zaghari-Ratcliffe. According to the British Prime Minister's Office, May emphasized the importance of resolving the cases of detainees in Iran alongside the development of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 37, who was arrested by the IRGC's intelligence unit, is accused of participating in 'subversive projects' and being 'one of the main agents linked to foreign entities.' She was tried for the first time on August 2 in the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, presided over by Judge Abolqasem Salavati. Kamel Faroughi, a businessman with dual Iranian-British citizenship, has also been detained since 2011, and his status remains unclear. Iran does not recognize dual citizenship. According to Reuters, the British Prime Minister and the Iranian President also discussed the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was agreed upon last July between Tehran and six world powers. Ms. May stated that London not only supports the expansion of banking and financial cooperation with Iran but is also continuously working to encourage British and European banks to cooperate more with Tehran. The Islamic Republic News Agency also reported, citing the political deputy of the Iranian presidency, that 'the development of bilateral cooperation, economic, banking, and insurance relations, and regional cooperation' were among the topics discussed between Theresa May and Hassan Rouhani. The official news agency of the Islamic Republic did not mention the issue of detained Iranian-British nationals in the phone conversation between the two leaders. In this context, the Islamic Republic has warned its citizens about the risk of detention in Iran.