New Accusation Against British Soldier: Endangering Nazanin Zaghari's Life with Fake Document

Daniel Abed Khalife, a former British Army soldier accused of sending information to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has been charged in court with endangering the life of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a dual Iranian-British citizen, by sending fake documents to the Islamic Republic. The Woolwich Crown Court in London announced on Tuesday, November 22, that Mr. Khalife, 23, sent a document titled 'Information Options for Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe' to Iranian intelligence forces three years ago, claiming that the British government was unwilling to negotiate for Ms. Zaghari's release. Nazanin Zaghari, an Iranian-British citizen, traveled to Iran in March 2016 to visit her family for Nowruz but was arrested by the IRGC at Tehran airport on charges of 'espionage' while returning to the UK and was sentenced to five years in prison. She was released on March 17 last year, along with another Iranian-British citizen, Anooshah Ashouri, after paying approximately £400 million in debt owed by the UK to Iran related to a tank purchase agreement during the Pahlavi era. The document referred to by the Woolwich Crown Court contained a fabricated conversation between James Cleverly, the then British Foreign Secretary, and the then Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister, stating that the £400 million debt to Iran would not be paid and that 'there would be no progress in returning Nazanin to the UK.' This fake document claimed that 'England does not pay ransom to hostile countries' and 'terrorists have long used kidnapping for ransom.' While the prosecutor accused Khalife of 'recklessness' that could have endangered a British citizen's life, he stated in court that he did not remember the document. However, in the police interrogation transcript read to the jury, Khalife admitted to preparing 'fake documents' to convince Iranians to trust him. This former British Army soldier, who is 'accused of terrorism' and 'intelligence connections with Iran,' escaped from prison for a week last September but was re-arrested. Khalife, whose mother was born in Iran, was discharged from the British Army in May 2023 after his connection with the IRGC was revealed, and he had also attempted to plant 'fake bombs' at a British military base. The British prosecution claims he received $1,500 from IRGC affiliates and a week later emailed the foreign intelligence section of the British Secret Service expressing his desire to work as a 'double agent.' Khalife described his plan as 'spreading misinformation to advance the national security interests of Britain' and stated, 'I know this plan may seem a bit strange.'