‘Should have happened six years ago’: Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe on her release

Former Iranian detainee Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has said it took the British government too long to secure her release, following an emotional reunion with her family after her shock return to the UK last week.

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was arrested at Tehran airport on April 3, 2016, under bogus spying charges, flew home alongside fellow detainee Anoosheh Ashoori after the UK settled a £400m debt owed to the Iranian government.

Speaking at her first press conference since her arrival, the 44-year-old Londoner emphasised how many foreign secretaries it had taken to secure her freedom, and said: “What’s happened now should have happened six years ago.

“We have all gone through a lot.”

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was released last Wednesday along with fellow British-Iranian national Mr Ashoori after the UK government paid the debt to Iran dating back to the 1970s.

Both governments have denied the two issues are linked.

Speaking at Portcullis House in Westminster, Nazanin disagreed with her husband Richard for thanking the foreign secretary, Liz Truss, for her release.

She said: “I have seen five foreign secretaries changed over the course of six years. That is unprecedented given the politics of the UK.

“I was told many, many times, ‘we’re going to get you home’

“That never happened.”

She continued: “I thought, ‘I’m not even going to trust you’, because I’ve been told many times that I’m going to be taken home but that never happened.

“How many foreign secretaries does it take for someone to come home?”

The Thomson Reuters charity worker was unable to leave Iran for almost six years, missing years with her seven-year-old daughter Gabriella.

She told LondonWorld what helped her get through her imprisonment was her memories of playing with her little girl.

“My memory faded as the time went by,” she said.

“The most visible memory was Gabriella playing and Richard getting me a cup of fennel tea.

“They were the most vivid memories but they faded gradually.”

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe also used the event to draw attention to the plight of other dual nationals still detained in Iran.

Morad Tahbaz, who has British, Iranian, and American citizenship, remains in detention.

Numerous people from other countries are also being held on various allegations of working to undermine the Iranian regime.

“I believe that the meaning of freedom is never going to be complete until all of us who are unjustly detained in Iran are returned to their families,” Nazanin said.

“To begin with Morad, but also all of the other dual nationals [and] members of religious groups.”

Mr Tahbaz’s daughter, Roxanne, also appeared at the conference, and said her family felt her father had been "abandoned and left behind" in Iran.

Ms Truss announced last week that Mr Tahbaz had been released from Evin Prison on furlough but his daughter confirmed that he has been sent back to prison today.

During their visit to the House of Commons, the Zaghari-Ratcliffes also met with Speaker Lindsay Hoyle and Labour leader Keir Starmer.

The family say they plan to take some time to heal and get to know one another again.