London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Nov 02, 2026

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe: Eight things we learnt from her first interview

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe: Eight things we learnt from her first interview

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has said she was forced to sign a false confession as a condition of her release. The mother-of-one was detained in Iran for six years on spying charges after visiting the country for a family holiday.

Speaking to the BBC's Woman's Hour in her first sit-down interview since her release, she said a UK official was with her when she signed the statement "under duress" before the Iranian authorities let her fly home in March.

Here are eight other things we learned from the interview.


1. Solitary confinement was 'most hostile, quiet form of torture'


Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe spoke for the first time about the months she spent in solitary confinement at the start of her detention, having previously shied away from questions about it at a press conference following her release. The dual British-Iranian national said she was held for just under seven months.

She said: "Solitary confinement, in my opinion, is the most hostile, quiet form of torture."

She said she was kept in a 1x2m cell with no window and lights which were kept on all day and night.

"I think solitary confinement works in the way they can mess your mind up in a way to break you," she said.

"There is a reason they keep people in solitary: and that is to force them to confess to things they haven't done and that works."


2. Her faith and her daughter's visits helped her survive detention


The 43-year-old said that, before her detention, she was not a practising Muslim but, during solitary confinement, her faith "got a lot deeper and a lot stronger".

"My faith, more than anything else, helped me," she said.

"I felt like this [faith] is very strong inside me and maybe God is testing me in a way."

Once she was moved to a general area of the prison, she said her daughter Gabriella's visits were "the source of my survival in prison".

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe said she and Gabriella were allowed to use crayons and make origami together.

She said: "Gabriella was the youngest of the kids of the mothers in the ward, and the next child was about eight years old.

"She was two, two and a half when I was moved to the general ward. It was heart-breaking to see a child as young as that to come to see her mother."

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe said she still struggles to watch videos of her daughter taken while they were apart


3. Nazanin taught yoga to other female prisoners


Fellow prisoners learned sewing, yoga and leatherwork from Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

She said prisoners on the women's wards would teach each other skills.

"There was a lot of getting together and doing things in groups... we would cook together," she said.

"Whoever had any skill would share it."

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe said Boris Johnson's comment in 2017 'cast a shadow over her'


4. Boris Johnson's erroneous comments in 2017 'cast a shadow over her'


In 2017, when Boris Johnson was foreign secretary, he erroneously told a Foreign Affairs Committee Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was "teaching people journalism" in Iran.

At the time of her detention, Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been a project manager for media freedom charity the Thomson Reuters Foundation but she insisted her trip to Iran was a holiday to see her parents.

She said Mr Johnson's mistake helped Iranian authorities further the narrative that she was a spy, something she explained to the prime minister at a meeting in Downing Street earlier this month.

She said in her interview: "For about a year and a half, I was trying to say: 'Look I was on holiday... I have come with a baby with a suitcase full of nappies'...

"But then when he made that comment, the Revolutionary Guards every time after that... they said: 'You have been hiding information from us. We know that you're a spy. We know what you were up to, even your prime minister mentioned that.'

"So I lived under the shadow of his comment psychologically and emotionally for the following four-and-a-half years after that day."


5. PM told her that her detention was linked to UK's debt


During her meeting with Mr Johnson, Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe said the prime minister also confirmed her detention was linked to the UK's £400m debt to Iran from the 1970s.

She said: "I think for me, there were times that I was very, very, very angry.

"But then I... Once I accepted the fact that it is what it is. There is very little I can do to change it. I had to come to terms with what had happened to me."

The Foreign Office has never the confirmed the link between the debt and her release.


6. She still can't look at her daughter's baby pictures


Gabriella, who was two-years-old when her mother was first detained, initially remained in Iran with her grandparents.

But it was decided she should return to the UK to live with her father, Richard Ratcliffe, in 2019.

Gabriella, now aged seven, did not see her mother again until her release in March this year.

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe said: "There was a huge amount of videos and pictures that my family had taken of her when she was away from me.

"I just couldn't. I still can't go through with them.

"I had a lot of her baby toys and baby clothes in Iran collected to be shipped back with me to London. And they finally arrived. I couldn't open.

"So there is this legacy, the emotional legacy that will stay with me forever."


7. 'First nights in UK were like a holiday'


The dual national was flown back to the UK in March this year, where her first days were spent with Gabriella and her husband at a safe house.

Describing those first days reunited with her family, she said: "Those first nights were like a holiday, I don't think I will be ever be able to explain the feeling of three of us.

"Also I knew that my return journey was never going to be rosy, it would be difficult."

Despite life now calming down, Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe said she still struggles to socialise as she feels "less energetic".

"Every day there is one little thing in the house - a picture or a memory of the past - that throws me back to where I was," she said.

"I don't think I have quite managed to close that and move on, and I don't think I will be able to."

Richard Ratcliffe went on hunger strike outside the Foreign Office for 21 days last year


8. 'Our love has got a lot deeper'


Mr Ratcliffe spearheaded the campaign to secure his wife's release for years, and went on a 21-day hunger strike outside the Foreign Office at the end of last year.

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe said of her husband: "I've got so much respect for him. I've got so much gratitude.

"And I think I would never be able to thank him enough...

"It has been an amazing journey for both of us. If anything our love has got a lot deeper."


Watch: I still can't look at my daughter's baby pictures - Nazanin on the years she lost in Iran


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
House of Lords Begins Detailed Legislative Scrutiny of Representation of the People Bill and Cyber Security Laws
Metropolitan Police Detain More Than Three Hundred Individuals Following Large-Scale Demonstration Outside London Embassy
Home Office Prepares Stricter Residency Rules Requiring Vulnerable Migrants to Wait Decade for Settlement Rights
Professional Mental Health Bodies Demand Statutory Regulation for Counsellors and Psychotherapists
National Grid Confirms Construction of Britain's Largest Electrical Substation to Power Teesside Data Centre
Prime Minister Keir Starmer Travels to Samoa for Commonwealth Summit Amid Debates on Economic Cooperation and Reparations
Home Office Implements Enhanced Digital Border Controls and Visa Processing Systems at Major Airports
Office for National Statistics Reports Stable Employment Participation Rates Across Regional Labor Markets
Department for Business and Trade Announces Strategic Partnership to Secure Critical Mineral Supply Chains
Scottish Government Unveils Regional Economic Development Strategy to Boost Advanced Manufacturing in Glasgow and Dundee
Treasury Officials Review Taxation Frameworks and Capital Gains Rules Ahead of Autumn Budget Disclosures
National Health Service Leaders Warn of Winter Capacity Pressures Across Acute Care Facilities
Bank of England Prepares for Key Interest Rate Decision Amid Sticky Inflation and Fiscal Policy Pressures
Home Office Expands Border Security Operations and Intelligence Sharing With European Partners
Office for National Statistics Reports Modest Retail Sales Growth Ahead of Crucial Christmas Trading Season
Welsh Government Unveils Strategic Plan to Boost Regional Technology Innovation and Digital Skills Training
Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs Implements New Agricultural Subsidies Framework for English Farmers
Scottish First Minister John Swinney Announces Major Regional Infrastructure and Green Energy Investment Strategy
National Health Service Leaders Warn of Severe Winter Pressures and Mounting Accident and Emergency Backlogs
Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee Signals Cautious Interest Rate Path Amid Persistent Services Inflation
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves Finalizes Autumn Budget Framework Aiming to Close Public Sector Fiscal Gap
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology Prepares Enhanced Artificial Intelligence Safety and Cyber Defense Frameworks
United Kingdom Government Expands International Sanctions Framework Against Russian Shadow Fleet and Financial Enablers
Institute of Directors Reports Sharp Post-Budget Drop in Business Confidence Despite Long-Term Investment Intention Shifts
Chancellor John Healey Defends Sweeping Fiscal Adjustments and Household Support Packages Following Autumn Budget
Parliamentary Petitions Committee Schedules Major Legislative Debates on Special Educational Needs and Non-Stun Meat Labelling
Regional Devolution and Good Growth Fund Frameworks Reshape Local Government Funding Across English Regions
Loughborough University Economic Analysts Highlight Substantial Uncertainty Surrounding Public Sector Efficiency Savings
British Legal Sector Drives Sixty Billion Pounds in Annual Economic Output While Employing Over Half a Million Professionals
Law Society Welcomes New Better Regulation Executive While Pressing for Long-Term Legal Aid Funding Reform
Metropolitan Police and Security Services Heighten Operations Across London Ahead of Large-Scale Public Demonstrations
Bank of England Economists Scrutinize Corporate Tax Adjustments and Public Sector Borrowing Pressures
Chancellor John Healey Defends Autumn Budget Tax and Spending Allocations Following Intense Parliamentary Scrutiny
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Implements Strict Water Quality Monitoring Rules Following Severe Rainfall and Flooding
Welsh Government Unveils Comprehensive Regional Housing Strategy to Address Rural Affordability and Homelessness Pressures in Cardiff
Office for National Statistics Reports Slowing Consumer Price Inflation and Steady Retail Performance Across United Kingdom Markets
Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly Advance Cross-Border Infrastructure Agreement in Belfast
Competition and Markets Authority Launches Formal Investigation Into Artificial Intelligence Partnerships Involving Major Technology Corporations
Scottish First Minister John Swinney Secures Cross-Party Support for Devolved Budget Framework and Renewable Energy Expansion
High Court Rules in Favor of Environmental Campaigners Over Department for Energy Security and Net Zero Licensing Procedures
National Health Service England Announces Major Digital Modernization and Artificial Intelligence Diagnostic Rollout Across Regional Trusts
Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee Signals Cautious Approach to Interest Rate Cuts Amid Persistent Wage Growth and Inflation Pressures
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves Outline Strategic Infrastructure Plans to Boost Regional Growth and Private Investment
Water pollution remains high despite £5bn investment
Regional Economic Divergence and Industrial Transformation
Technological Sovereignty and Regulatory Scrutiny
Fiscal Consolidation and Public Service Pressures
Automotive Industry Leadership Warns of Imminent Supply Chain Disruptions Following Recent European Trade Negotiations
High Court Delivers Landmark Ruling Affirming Strict Legal Protections for Corporate Data Privacy Against State Surveillance
Welsh First Minister Eluned Morgan Secures Additional Funding for Regional Transport Infrastructure and Rail Modernization
×