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((PLAYBOOK SLUG: Iran Britain Nazanin Home (TV)
HEADLINE: Amid Emotional Homecoming for Freed British-Iranian Prisoners, West Grapples with Tehran’s ‘Hostage Diplomacy’
TEASER: Mother Nazanin Zaghrai-Ratcliffe and businessman Anoosheh Ashoori freed, as Britain pays historic debt to Iran
PUBLISHED AT: Thursday, 03/17/2022 at 3:45 pm
BYLINE: Henry Ridgwell
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: London
VIDEOGRAPHER: Henry Ridgwell
VIDEO EDITOR: Henry Ridgwell
PRODUCER: Rob Raffaele
SCRIPT EDITORS: MAS, BR
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA, APTN, Reuters, AFP, Teams
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB _X_ TV _X_ RADIO __
TRT: 3:24
VID APPROVED BY: BR
TYPE: VPKGN
EDITOR NOTES:))
((INTRO)) [[Two British-Iranian nationals who were jailed in Iran are back in Britain. Few details have emerged on the negotiations, but Britain confirmed that it had repaid a long-standing debt to Tehran ahead of their release. As Henry Ridgwell reports from London, critics say Iran is increasingly engaging in hostage diplomacy.]]
((NARRATOR))
After six painful years of forced separation – a family reunited. The first photographs emerged Thursday of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe with her husband Richard and their seven-year-old daughter Gabriella.
Speaking hours before her arrival home, Richard Ratcliffe described their emotions.
((Richard Ratcliffe, Husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe))
"We can stop being a moment in history and start being a normal family again.”
((NARRATOR))
Zaghari-Ratcliffe was detained in 2016 while returning from a holiday seeing family – and convicted of plotting to overthrow the government. She was repeatedly held in solitary confinement.
Also released by Iran was businessman Anoosheh Ashoori, who was jailed in 2017 for espionage. His family says he was tortured.
Both strongly deny the charges against them. Negotiations for their release had been going on for several months.
((Liz Truss, British Foreign Secretary))
“I thank the families for how stoical they've been during this really, really difficult period.”
((NARRATOR))
Britain confirmed that in recent days it had paid a 530-million-dollar debt owed to Iran for an unfulfilled order of tanks and other weapons, dating back over forty years.
Both Britain and Iran denied the prisoner release was related to the debt repayment. But Tehran will see this as a victory, says analyst Allan Hassaniyan.
((Allan Hassaniyan, Iran Analyst at University of Exeter)) ((Via Teams no courtesy needed))
“Seeing that they can, through untraditional means and mechanisms, can blackmail and extort the international community.”
((NARRATOR))
Many other dual-nationality citizens are still being detained in Iran, including American, Canadian, European and Australian nationals.
((Allan Hassaniyan, Iran Analyst at University of Exeter))
“I don’t think it will be the final one and we will see the repetition of this pattern.”
((NARRATOR))
There are other geopolitical forces at play.
((Allan Hassaniyan, Iran Analyst at University of Exeter))
“Iran is negotiating a new nuclear deal with the West, including Russia. And then we have a very deteriorated Iranian economy resulting in different kinds of internal issues. We have the Ukrainian-Russian war which has really provided (Iran) with a kind of opportunity, but also very big difficulties for the West, especially when it comes to the access to energy sources.”
((NARRATOR))
A lifting of sanctions on Iran under a new nuclear deal could boost global oil supplies.
Oil prices were high on the agenda as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates this week. Johnson’s own role in Iran’s detention of Zaghari-Ratcliffe is under scrutiny. In 2017 – as then British Foreign Secretary – he wrongly claimed that she was in Iran to train journalists.
Meanwhile, for the freed prisoners and their families, debate over the shifting geopolitics that may have led to their release is for another day.
In the words of Richard Ratcliffe’s sister – ‘a little girl has finally got her mummy and daddy back.’
((Henry Ridgwell, for VOA News, London))
NewsML Media TopicsConflict, War and Peace
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateMarch 17, 2022 16:01 EDT
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
