Telegraph: 'Britain's readiness to repay £400 million debt to Iran'

The British newspaper Telegraph reports that the British government has expressed its readiness to repay £400 million (equivalent to $527 million) to Iran in exchange for the release of Nazanin Zaghari. The newspaper states that this amount is intended to be paid to Iran for the release of Nazanin Zaghari. Meanwhile, according to Reuters, a spokesperson for the British Prime Minister's office, who wished to remain anonymous, stated that there is 'no connection' between the two issues. On Thursday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry also denied any connection between the two matters. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is an Iranian-British aid worker who was arrested in April 2016 while visiting Iran for a holiday and was later accused of 'conspiring' to overthrow the government. While Ms. Zaghari denies the government's accusations against her, a court in Tehran sentenced her to five years in prison. The Telegraph reported on Wednesday, November 15, that the amount Britain is willing to pay is related to a debt stemming from a military deal made during the last Shah of Iran's reign. This arms deal was signed about forty years ago, and reports indicate that Britain failed to deliver part of the weapons and equipment to Iran. Richard Ratcliffe, Nazanin Zaghari's husband, stated last year that his wife's detention has reasons beyond her activities and relates to Tehran-London relations; specifically, that Iran is demanding repayment of the pre-revolutionary arms purchase debt in exchange for his wife's freedom. Iranian officials have denied this claim. According to the latest report from the Telegraph, UN and US sanctions against Iran have so far prevented the payment of this amount to Iran, and British officials have been seeking legal advice to find a way to transfer it to Iran. The Telegraph cites unnamed British government sources stating that the government does not want to directly link the payment of this amount to the release of Nazanin Zaghari. These sources also indicated that amid efforts to secure Ms. Zaghari's release, Britain intends to show a 'goodwill' approach to Tehran by making this payment. Meanwhile, according to ISNA news agency, Bahram Qasemi, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, also stated on Thursday that 'the payment of the British government's debt to Iran has no connection to the case of Ms. Nazanin Zaghari, and these two issues are separate.' The issue of Nazanin Zaghari's imprisonment has been in the headlines for several weeks following comments made by Boris Johnson, the British Foreign Secretary, about her, which led him to apologize for his remarks. In his initial comments regarding Ms. Zaghari's imprisonment in Iran, the Foreign Secretary stated that Ms. Zaghari was engaged in teaching journalism in Iran before her arrest, a claim that both Nazanin Zaghari and her employer deny. Zaghari worked for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, a charity based in London that is independent of the Thomson Reuters news organization and Reuters news agency. Following the Foreign Secretary's remarks, Nazanin Zaghari was summoned to court again without prior notice. Richard Ratcliffe also told reporters that Ms. Zaghari has been charged with new offenses following these comments, which could add 16 years to her sentence.