International
UK Foreign Secretary plans Iran visit to discuss release of Britons held in Tehran
Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom is reportedly due to meet with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, in Tehran to discuss the release of dual British-Iranian nationals held in the country.
During the visit which is the first visit by a UK foreign secretary to the Middle Eastern country since 2015, Johnson said he hopes to express his “grave concerns” about dual British-Iranian nationals with an apparent reference to imprisoned mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.
Read also: US lawmaker resigns over surrogate remarks
Zaghari-Ratcliffe is expected to appear in court Sunday to face charges of “spreading propaganda” and has been detained in Iran since April 2016 on espionage charges that she and her family vehemently deny.”
“We will also discuss our bilateral relationship and I will stress my grave concerns about our dual national consular cases and press for their release where there are humanitarian grounds to do so,” he said.
Johnson’s visit comes at a time of increased regional tensions as he also plans to discuss the crisis in Yemen and Britain’s support for the 2015 nuclear deal struck between Iran and world powers “while making clear our concerns about some of Iran’s activity in the region,” according to his statement.
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