The Foreign Office initially told Ashoori’s family Middle East minister, James Cleverly, could meet them
The foreign secretary, Liz Truss, has agreed to meet the family of the British-Iranian dual national Anoosheh Ashoori who is being held in Evin prison in Tehran. They are calling on the Foreign Office to give him the same diplomatic protection as that granted to Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.
The move comes as Nazanin’s husband, Richard Ratcliffe, enters the 11th day of a hunger strike outside the Foreign Office. He is pressing the UK government to pay the £400m debt it owes to Iran from a court case dating back to the 1970s. Iran has made it clear that although the debt is a standalone issue, its payment would help with the release of British-Iranian detainees.
