British-Iranian Hostages Released From Iran

(New York, N.Y.) — Today, British-Iranian nationals Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anousheh Ashoori were released from captivity by the Iranian regime. Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been unjustly held since 2016 and Ashoori since 2017, both on trumped up charges and in brutal and inhuman conditions. The Iranian regime released Ashoori and Zaghari-Ratcliffe into the custody of the British government, and the two have left the Islamic Republic. Britain reportedly paid the regime $530 million to erase a debt dating back to the 1970s. 

While their release is a step in the right direction, Iran continues to hold other American and Western hostages on similar trumped-up offenses. Their safe release and an end to Iran’s decades-long commitment to hostage diplomacy should be preconditions before making any concessions to Tehran. 

Iran deliberately targets Americans and other Westerners to take hostage, particularly persons who also hold Iranian citizenship. Iran takes hostages for several reasons. They serve as bargaining chips for the regime to extract concessions from other countries. The government also seeks to punish undesirable behavior and send a message to Iranians to refrain from internal dissent. Finally, Iran does not recognize dual citizenship, so by targeting dual nationals, the regime demonstrates to the Iranian expatriate community that they are not beyond Tehran’s grasp. 

To read United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI)’s resource, American and Western Hostages, please click here. 

To read UANI’s profile Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, please click here. 

To read UANI’s profile Anousheh Ashoori, please click here. 

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