Asked by: Lord Bishop of Chelmsford (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of British Iranian dual nationals detained by the government of Iran; and what support they are providing (1) the detainees, and (2) their families.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The welfare of detained dual British nationals remains a top priority. We lobby on health concerns and mistreatment allegations. We call on the Iranian government immediately to allow health professionals into Evin prison to assess the situation of dual British nationals there. We do not provide information about numbers of British nationals detained in a country when the low numbers involved may lead to individuals being identifiable.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office provides consular support to the families of dual British nationals detained in Iran whenever they want our support. We continue to raise their cases at the most senior levels, and discuss them at every opportunity with our Iranian counterparts. Our Ambassador in Tehran regularly raises our dual national detainees with the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Chelmsford (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Iran about the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe; and what assessment they have made about the prospects for her release.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Iran's decision to proceed with these baseless charges against Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is an appalling continuation of the cruel ordeal she is going through. Instead of threatening to return Nazanin to prison Iran must release her permanently so she can return home. The Foreign Secretary raised her case, and the cases of Anoosheh Ashoori and Morad Tahbaz, with Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian on 22 September and 8 November. Minister Cleverly met with Deputy Foreign Minister Bagheri Kani on 11 November. We continue to engage with Iran at the most senior levels and our Ambassador in Tehran continues to regularly raise our detainees with the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Ministers hold regular meetings with officials to direct activity across the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Ofice aimed at securing the release of Nazanin and other unfairly detained British nationals.Asked by: Lord Bishop of Chelmsford (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the status of the £400 million debt owed to the government of Iran for the non-delivery of Chieftain tanks in 1979; and what steps they are taking to repay it.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
Her Majesty’s Government acknowledges International Military Services’ debt and remains committed to exploring all options for a practicable and legally-viable means of discharging it, and intensive efforts are underway to that end. We will not, however, comment further while legal proceedings are ongoing.