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Two British citizens apprehended in Iran amidst rising tensions.
The Foreign Office has confirmed the detention of two individuals in Kerman on charges related to security, as Iran continues to present a high-risk atmosphere for dual nationals.
The Foreign Office of the United Kingdom has confirmed that two British citizens, a man and a woman, have been arrested in Iran.
Their detention was initially reported by state-controlled media, which noted that they are being held in the southeastern city of Kerman.
They face allegations related to unspecified security offenses.
The names of those detained have not been made public.
Images released from the meeting show the pair with the British ambassador to Iran, Hugo Shorter, at Kerman’s prosecutor's office.
The meeting also included Kerman’s prosecutor, Mehdi Bakhshi, and the deputy governor general for security and law enforcement, Rahman Jalali, as stated by the Iranian state news agency IRNA.
In a travel warning, the Foreign Office has advised against all trips to Iran, cautioning that British nationals and those with British-Iranian dual nationality are at a 'significant risk' of arrest, questioning, or detention.
The advisory emphasizes that merely having a British passport or ties to the UK can be adequate grounds for arrest by Iranian authorities.
The circumstances for dual nationals in Iran remain unstable, with reports indicating that numerous individuals holding dual nationality or foreign permanent residency have been detained in recent years, often on charges of espionage or other national security issues.
Among these, at least 15 individuals are known to have connections to the UK.
Human rights organizations have described such detentions as strategies used by Iran to gain leverage, noting that detainees are often released only in return for concessions from foreign governments.
In 2023, the Iranian government executed British-Iranian dual citizen Alireza Akbari, who had been convicted of espionage for the UK, a charge he refuted, alleging that his confession was obtained through torture and coercion.
That same year, environmentalist Morad Tahbaz, who holds UK-U.S.-Iranian citizenship, was released as part of a prisoner exchange agreement between Iran and the United States, which included the release of $6 billion of Iranian assets frozen in South Korea.
In 2022, two British-Iranian nationals, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori, were freed after the UK settled a long-standing debt of £650 million owed to Iran.
Their detention was initially reported by state-controlled media, which noted that they are being held in the southeastern city of Kerman.
They face allegations related to unspecified security offenses.
The names of those detained have not been made public.
Images released from the meeting show the pair with the British ambassador to Iran, Hugo Shorter, at Kerman’s prosecutor's office.
The meeting also included Kerman’s prosecutor, Mehdi Bakhshi, and the deputy governor general for security and law enforcement, Rahman Jalali, as stated by the Iranian state news agency IRNA.
In a travel warning, the Foreign Office has advised against all trips to Iran, cautioning that British nationals and those with British-Iranian dual nationality are at a 'significant risk' of arrest, questioning, or detention.
The advisory emphasizes that merely having a British passport or ties to the UK can be adequate grounds for arrest by Iranian authorities.
The circumstances for dual nationals in Iran remain unstable, with reports indicating that numerous individuals holding dual nationality or foreign permanent residency have been detained in recent years, often on charges of espionage or other national security issues.
Among these, at least 15 individuals are known to have connections to the UK.
Human rights organizations have described such detentions as strategies used by Iran to gain leverage, noting that detainees are often released only in return for concessions from foreign governments.
In 2023, the Iranian government executed British-Iranian dual citizen Alireza Akbari, who had been convicted of espionage for the UK, a charge he refuted, alleging that his confession was obtained through torture and coercion.
That same year, environmentalist Morad Tahbaz, who holds UK-U.S.-Iranian citizenship, was released as part of a prisoner exchange agreement between Iran and the United States, which included the release of $6 billion of Iranian assets frozen in South Korea.
In 2022, two British-Iranian nationals, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori, were freed after the UK settled a long-standing debt of £650 million owed to Iran.
