Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe: Defence secretary trying to pay off Iran tank debt to speed up release

The government is seeking ways to pay off a 40-year-old debt to Iran over tanks that were never delivered in a bid to pave the way for Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s release from prison. Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, made the admission for the first time in a letter sent to Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s lawyers and seen by The Guardian. The British-Iranian dual national has been detained in Iran since 2016. Although the Iranian authorities have not publicly stated the controversial £400m debt is behind the stand-off, experts have long believed Britain’s refusal to settle the deal has made negotiations more difficult. The complex dispute dates back to the 1970s, when the Shah of Iran ordered...