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Defense Secretary Ben Wallace has acknowledged for the first time that he is actively seeking to pay off a debt to the Iranian government that could ultimately help secure the release of British citizens with dual citizenship, including Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.
Wallace assured the attorneys acting on behalf of the families that the government was exploring all legal avenues to pay the debt, which for the first time formally recognized that the government owes.
The admission came in a letter to lawyers acting on behalf of Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who has been detained in Iran in jail and then under house arrest since 2016.
The UK is believed to owe up to £ 400 million to the Iranian government due to the non-delivery of Chieftain tanks ordered by the Shah of Iran prior to their overthrow in 1979.
An international arbitration in 2008 ruled that the UK was in debt, but in subsequent lengthy court battles, lawyers acting for the International Military Services, the now-defunct Ministry of Defense arms sales agency, have questioned not only the size of the debt, but occasionally if any. the debt was payable.
Neither Iran nor the UK government formally acknowledge that the release of dual UK nationals in Iranian prisons is related to non-payment of debt, although the issue has been raised by Iranian judges and is privately seen as the main obstacle.
In his letter, Wallace writes: “With respect to IMS Ltd and the pending legal dispute, the government recognizes that there is a debt to pay and continues to explore all legal avenues for the legal settlement of that debt.”
However, no payment should violate EU or possibly US sanctions.
Wallace, as Secretary of Defense, is the 99% shareholder of IMS and therefore the main decision-maker.
As a backbencher and before he became Secretary of Defense, Wallace had been highly critical of the delay in debt repayment, saying it was a blemish on the UK. He adds in his letter: “I have previously expressed my personal position and remain committed to its resolution, but it would not be appropriate for me to comment further at this time.”
His comments, stating that his views have not changed, are likely to go as far as the defense secretary can go and remain within the limits of the collective responsibility of the cabinet. Many letters to cabinet ministers from Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s lawyers, asking probing questions about the government’s strategy to release dual citizens of the UK and Iran, remain unanswered.
She also underlines in her letter that she believes that Zaghari-Ratcliffe is illegally and arbitrarily detained, and that the Iranian government should release her unconditionally.
A new, long-postponed court hearing on the debt will be held on November 4, and Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s attorneys say it is not a coincidence that the case takes place after the US presidential election, a possible Turning point in Iran relations.
Richard Ratcliffe, Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s husband, said: “This is the first response we have had to any of the letters that we have written to the various defense secretaries, for which I am grateful to Mr. Wallace for interacting with us directly. . I appreciate that you have responded and expressed your personal position that the IMS debt should be paid.
“ We would still like to get to know you, to understand what the way forward is and to understand what practical avenues the Ministry of Defense has explored to pay off the debt, including through humanitarian supplies, as this was something that the US State Department Fine in terms of penalties.
“I would also like to understand at a basic level what is happening. The prime minister, the defense secretary and many other ministers are all on record saying they want this resolved. It is not clear, then, who may be blocking this. “
Zaghari-Ratcliffe is under effective house arrest in Tehran and pleads to be allowed to return to London to be with her husband and daughter, Gabriella. She has said that her chances of having a second child are rapidly diminishing.
The wife of Anoosheh Ashoori, another British-Iranian locked up in a Tehran jail, described the letter as “encouraging” as it “officially recognizes the IMS debt and the need to pay it off.” She added: “What would be most comforting to the families of the British hostages held in Iran would be for the government to make an official and unequivocal commitment to pay the debt rather than postpone the high court date for the hearing from March to November.
He said it was easy for the government to urge families to rely on “diplomacy of silence,” but “less easy to be patient when it is your loved one who is being subjected to the most psychological and physical harm.”
She said her husband suffered from depression and was missing more birthdays and family events.
The UK may be reluctant to act because it cannot see a humanitarian payment route that is not ultimately leaked to the Revolutionary Guard, or it considers that any payment will be seen as equivalent to paying a ransom for a hostage, so it will only encourage more Iranian hostages. taking. British families note that British citizens with dual citizenship are being arrested anyway, and one, whose identity has not yet been revealed, is currently on trial.
