Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s six-year ordeal in Iran is over.
The British-Iranian mother was released from detention and boarded a flight out of the country today as the UK Government settled an outstanding £400 million debt owed to the regime in Tehran.
Her husband Richard Ratcliffe, who has fought a tenacious battle to secure her release, said he was “deeply grateful” and that he and their daughter Gabriella were “looking forward to a new life”.
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe is returning to Britain, along with a second dual national, Anoosheh Ashoori. A third dual national, Morad Tahbaz, has been released from prison on furlough.
BBC News presenter Joanna Gosling was temporarily overcome with emotion as she announced the news of the long-awaited release.
Mr Ashouri and Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe have left Iranian airspace and landed in Oman, where they will board a flight back to the UK, which is expected to arrive tonight.
After a series of false dawns – and hunger strikes – Joe Shute recounts Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s six-year ordeal.
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Liz Truss announced in the Commons that the Government has paid £393.8 million which has been ring fenced for humanitarian purposes in order to circumvent the sanctions that are in force against the Iranian regime.
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s release follows a softening of relations between Britain and Iran amid attempts to revive the nuclear deal which could see sanctions against the major oil producing nation be lifted in order to help the gas crisis.
As a range of diplomatic crises overlap, read how Russia has attempted to use its support for reviving the Iran nuclear deal as leverage to minimise sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine.
Russia and Ukraine ‘draw up 15-point peace plan’
Meanwhile, Russia and Ukraine have reportedly drawn up a 15-point peace deal that would bring a ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian troops – in return for commitments from Kyiv to become a “neutral” country and accept limits on the size of its army. It is understood the deal would allow Ukraine to keep a standing army, but prevent it from ever joining Nato or hosting foreign military bases. A similar 1955 pledge convinced the Soviet Union to end the decade-long occupation of Austria after the Second World War. However, James Crisp analyses how Vladimir Putin may be stringing Kyiv and the West along with talk of peace, while sending yet more troops to Ukraine to pursue his bloody war. It comes after President Volodymyr Zelensky compared the horror of Russia’s war in his country to Pearl Harbor and the 9/11 attacks in an historic address to the US Congress today. In other developments:
In a global food crisis, how bad will it get for Britain?
In a newspaper article last week, Oleg Ustenko, an economic adviser to Mr Zelensky, put a brave face on the catastrophic consequences of Russia’s invasion on food security, for his country and for the rest of the world. Ukraine, he wrote, is the world’s fifth-largest exporter of wheat, and Ukrainian farmers should soon be seeding their fields in some of the richest soil in the world. But those parts of the country which are most fertile in terms of agricultural production are now under aerial attack and artillery bombardment. Intact as the Ukraine sense of irony may be, it hardly mitigates the disastrous effect of the invasion. In the midst of a global food crisis, Mick Brown examines how bad it will get for Britain.
Comment and analysis
Wednesday big-read
‘What I learnt when I took in refugees’
Three people who have given up a spare room share their stories with Eleanor Steafel – and offer advice to anyone hoping to do the same
Evening briefing: Today’s other essential headlines
Earthquake hits Japan | A tsunami warning has been issued for Fukushima after a magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck eastern Japan. Japan Safe Travel, a government body, said a one-metre tall wave is expected to strike coastal areas of the Japanese prefecture. Read on for details.
Sport briefing: West Indies strike – Man Utd’s odd exit
The West Indies struck early as England went in to bat on day one of the second Test in Barbados. Follow the action here. Manchester United’s Champions League campaign ultimately, despite several emotional highs, was dreary to watch for long periods this season. Thom Gibbs picks out eight moments of oddness that summed up the club’s farcical exit at the hands of Atlético Madrid. Meanwhile, our writers have selected their XVs for England’s Six Nations battle against France – and you can pick yours – as Daniel Schofield ponders if failing to appoint Shaun Edwards is the great ‘what-if’ moment in England rugby history.
Editor’s choice
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F1’s new-look grid analysed | Gills, skinny sidepods and ‘spaceship’ mirrors
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State-run hotels and nudist resorts | What travelling during the Cold War was really like
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Sarah Rodrigues | It isn’t shocking – or radical – for Pixar to tackle puberty
Business briefing: Nine Elms project sold for huge loss
A luxury housing project at the heart of the Nine Elms site in London has been sold by its debt-laden Chinese developer for a £62m loss. R&F Properties has offloaded the Vauxhall Square site, which has planning permission for two large office buildings and twin 42 and 58-storey towers that will have a total of 578 apartments when completed. Read how the Chinese developer has been one of the worst hit by Xi Jinping’s “three red lines” policy. Meanwhile, landlords could see stamp duty bills jump by a third if a new tax is added when buying properties in next week’s Spring Statement. With the Treasury on the hunt for cash, read how landlords could be in the crosshairs for next week’s update.
Tonight starts now
Live music | Michelle Obama was right: Bree Runway is a superstar in the making. After the 29-year-old British-Ghanaian pop singer from east London gave a dazzling gig at Electric Brixton, legions of music lovers have got back their taste for going to gigs. Right on cue, Stormzy showed why he is a powerhouse performer at the top of his game at Newcastle’s Utilita Arena, and the young British rapper is touring Britain and Dublin until April 4. If a bit of indie rock is more your thing, Welsh singer Cate Le Bon and her band delivered a masterclass in restraint at Hackney Empire, and you can see her touring the UK until March 23.
Three things for you
And finally… for this evening’s downtime
The Star Wars villain problem | He is terrifying, enigmatic and criminally underused. Then why has Darth Maul been cut from the Obi-Wan Kenobi series? Ed Power explains why Disney is mad to ditch the red-and-black faced villain of The Phantom Menace.
