Iranian Diplomat Raps US for Preventing Release of Dual Nationals
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi reminded the UK that its friends in Washington are the ones who have obstructed the implementation of an agreement on the release of 10 Iranian-British prisoners.
In a post on his Twitter account on Friday, Araqchi responded to comments from British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab who has demanded that Iran’s new President Ebrahim Raisi release Anoosheh Ashoori, a British-Iranian dual national, on the fourth anniversary of his arrest in Tehran.
Ashoori, who previously lived in southeast London with his family, was detained in August 2017 and was sentenced to 10 years in prison for cooperating with Israel’s spy agency Mossad and two years for obtaining 33,000 euros in “illicit funds” nearly a year later, according to Press TV.
In his tweet, Araqchi blamed Britain’s “friends” in Washington for freezing an agreement on a humanitarian prisoner exchange between Tehran and London.
“You know better than anybody else that deal for release of 10 prisoners-incl Anoosheh Ashoori-was concluded weeks ago but your friends in DC froze it,” he said.
“Ashoori and 9 more are taken hostage by US for political goals,” the deputy minister added.
In July, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh rejected the United States’ denial of the agreement on the prisoner exchange, expressing Tehran’s preparedness to immediately proceed with the deal already agreed with Washington and London.
