Good news Wednesday. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe on way home to UK. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-60756870
Great news. Questions will have to be asked though about why we couldn't just pay back the £400m they were holding her and others hostage for sooner. For all the waffle around it, and while it doesn't excuse extra-judicial imprisonment of innocents by Iran, it looks very much like we just didn't want to pay back what we owe.
Well I suppose if we’ve rather expensively constructed 1500 tanks and we can’t give them to you because you’ve installed a mad, misogynist, gerontocracy, likely to have a pop at their, er, very peaceful neighbours, you could argue that part of the bill is down to you. We could have settled on the basis that we can’t sell them so you can have your money back, minus production costs. However, once the international court had ruled in Iran’s favour for the lot then we should have got on with it. The first settlement in any dispute is always the cheapest.
I hope she's been rushed to MI6 headquarters where a microfilm is being removed from her bum now to reveal all Iran's nuclear secrets
They interviewed her big boss on the radio yesterday morning heralding her release. I half expected the segment to end with, “And that was John Smith there, Chief Executive of Universal Exports…”
Nazanin’s first press conference. It is revealed that in 2013, Iranian negotiators arrived in the UK to discus the debt with the Government. They were detained on the orders of the Foreign Office. Tulip Siddiq MP says this directly led to retaliatory actions by the Iranians and an investigation is required. Nazanin - there were five different Foreign Secretaries during her captivity. She stopped believing anything they said.
Yep. I was wondering if she was going to keep her powder dry on this or not. If this is how she skewers the Government in her first press conference, I can’t wait to see what she has to say when all the dust has settled.
Yup. Maybe they genuinely thought getting her out and then a long weekend at a government mansion would keep her on side. I wonder if she fancies a tilt at Boris' seat in Parliament?
Especially when Boris' famed intervention stating she had been spying, er no, spreading rumours, er no, teaching journalism er, er, er....almost certainly led to her detention in Iran being extended. I bet she's really looking forward to meeting him.
And those ukranian’s coming over here better keep their mouthes shut too! They are just about white enough for my simpafee right now but that can change with a few words against our leader!!
https://www.gchq.gov.uk/section/locations/cheltenham https://www.gchq.gov.uk/section/locations/scarborough https://www.gchq.gov.uk/section/locations/manchester https://www.gchq.gov.uk/section/locations/london https://marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/HYDRA Take your pick.
It's so, sooooo predictable to see fragile mostly white middle aged and late middle aged men trying to put an articulate, non-white woman in her place. Give it a few days and they'll be questioning whether her ordeal was really all that bad, if they're not already. Johnson gets a free pass for failing to be in command of his brief when he was Foreign Sec and the loose, inaccurate comment which effectively extended her imprisonment. But Zaghari-Ratcliffe answers a straight question with a straight answer and they're all clutching their pearls. Incredible, really. And it's always the same people.
Many years ago I was asked to go to Iran by the company I worked for I refused I’ve worked on projects all around the world - US, Russia (1990s) Brazil, India, China etc Iran was a step too far for me, totalitarian state with appalling record on human rights and western visitors just didn’t feel worth the risks I’m pleased for her she’s back and for her family, but just maybe she needs to look a bit closer to home than blaming everyone else for her woes
Lots of people do travel to Iran nevertheless. There are some key, specific failures that the Government needs to own and they are pretty bad. Detaining the Iranian negotiators in 2013 as if they were illegal immigrants. Johnson’s woeful behaviour as FS, misrepresenting Nazanin’s visit, giving an excuse to jail her further. The extreme delay on settling the case after the international court ruled on it. Fitful interest in her and many other Brits locked up abroad.
Personally I think this line of argument all pivots around what the FCO's consular advice for travellers to Iran was at the time. (I've no idea, by the way, but I'm sure it's out there somewhere).
From what I've read travel restrictions to Iran had been "relaxed" as hostility levels between our nations had "lowered". https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/...an-travel-advice-due-to-decreasing-hostility/ FCO advice at the time said that the "vast majority" of the country was safe for UK travellers. However, again from what I've read, advice for dual nationals was less clear as Iran regards dual nationals as Iranian only. The bottom line for me is that blaming Nazanin is victim blaming. Of course she took a risk going to visit her family in Iran but the FCO handling of the situation over the last 6 years has been disgraceful and she has every right to point that out.
I don’t disagree, which is why I trust my own judgement more on where I will and won’t travel and work
I get what you're saying. As I understand it though she was only going for two weeks to visit her folks and take her daughter to see them. That's an entirely different equation to a work contract you could presumably take or leave for a country you had no links to. I'm simply saying, if the FCO didn't outline any risk, I don't see how she should be expected to know there was one. @sydney_horn may well be right about how it presented the risk for dual nationals though.
My Indian Uncle who is a professor in chemical engineering helped the Iranians design a chemical plant or two in the late 90s early 2000s. The bloke has serious money but is as tight as a Nuns wotsit. He is married to my Aunt who is the current Mayor of Winchester, apparently thats a big thing.
Ah, the beguiling 'take personal responsibility' argument... Part of the 'common sense' playbook. Perhaps she did all that. After all, she was born in Tehran, grew up, was educated and worked in Iran and had family there. It's just possible she knew a fair bit about Iran when she took the trip to visit her family for Iranian New Year. After all, even taking into account FCO advice, being a dual citizen of a country does alter things slightly.
I wonder how long it’ll be before a member of the press or former MP/MEP will accuse her of the crimes that Iran did and say that she got off lightly.
If you are trying to embarrass me with some woke nonsense it won’t work I prefer people show some common sense and take responsibility for their actions than behave like gullible simpletons and follow whatever stupid instruction stupid politicians and stupid civil servants tell them If she judged the risks so well.. how come she ended up in jail?
