London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 31, 2025

Iran says UK is discussing how to repay £400m debt

Iran says UK is discussing how to repay £400m debt

Ambassador says British officials visited Tehran last week for talks on historical debt from 1970s arms sale
UK government officials were in Tehran last week discussing legal ways to pay Britain’s historical £400m debt to Iran, the Iranian ambassador to London has said.

Mohsen Baharvand added that he was in live discussions with the Foreign Office, and said the issues were not insurmountable.

The UK Foreign Office has refused to discuss any details of the payment to Iran, or what has been holding up the settling of the £400m debt dating back to an arms sale to Iran in the mid-1970s.

Families of the UK dual nationals detained in Iran have repeatedly said they believe their family members are being held hostage until the debt is paid. The former foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt has also said he does not think the UK dual nationals will be released until the debt is paid.

Baharvand, speaking to reporters in London on Friday, said Iran and the UK had been close to an agreement on the debt in the summer: “We wanted to use that deal to ask our people that we are seeing a good sign from the UK and then that gives us a possibility to expedite our efforts to help the dual nationals and things like that. Then we had a deal. We signed it but two days after the signature of that deal the UK government said they could not implement it because of US sanctions,” he said.

“We are trying. We should not be that pessimistic. We are working with our Foreign Office colleagues maybe to reach that deal. We are in the process of discussions. Last week there was a delegation from the UK in Iran and personally I was talking to the Foreign Office and I am hopeful we will reach an agreement.”

Referring to reports that the money could be paid in the form of humanitarian aid, he said: “It’s not aid. Our money is here and we want our money. That is very simple. We want to receive our money. We are not insisting on interest. Otherwise it would be billions. We are talking to our UK colleagues as to which channel is the most probable to transfer that money to our accounts.”

Asked if the US could give a letter of comfort to the UK to guarantee the payment would not be sanctioned, he said: “The US are not doing that. They have to help the UK government to do that. It is not impossible. Obstacles are not insurmountable, but we have to discuss, negotiate and find a way. We are now discussing through what channel that money be transferred. There is a negotiating process now.”

He also stressed that the issue of the detainees’ release was a matter for the Iranian judiciary, and could not be mixed up with the wider issue of the Iran nuclear talks in Vienna.

In response to the Iranian ambassador’s remarks a Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesman said: “We continue to explore options to resolve this 40-year-old case and will not comment further as discussions are ongoing.”

Foreign office sources stressed that the UK recognises that it legally owes a debt to Iran, but said it was unhelpful to connect wider bilateral issues with those unfairly detained in Iran.

The UK’s priority was the immediate release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, Anoosheh Ashoori and Morad Tahbaz.

Officials added it was in Iran’s gift to do the right thing and allow British nationals home to be reunited with their family.

In a question-and-answer session at the thinktank Chatham House this week, the foreign secretary, Liz Truss, acknowledged that the UK owed the debt. She has met the families of two UK-Iranian dual national detainees, Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Ashoori.

Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of Zaghari-Ratcliffe, said: “It is a positive sign. It seems to us as if Iran may be trying to push this over the line, but the UK is very careful not to say what the problems are with the payment so we do not know what we do not know.

“Our lawyers believe the US sanctions cannot be preventing the payment. There may be political problems with the US. Any EU sanctions prohibiting payment have now become UK sanctions so it is possible for the UK to certify that payment of the debt would not breach UK sanctions.

“But Nazanin remains in harm’s way, and it is now the sixth Christmas that our family will be apart – that is a long time. I am afraid I am more pessimistic than I was last Christmas.”

Sherry Izadi, the wife of Ashoori, who is detained in Evin prison, Tehran, said: “Although we expected to be told of this development by the FCDO, we sincerely hope the report is true and that we are one step closer to having our loved one back. In these months of gloom and despair, this has been the first real ray of sunshine.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
×