Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has UK passport returned, MP says.

[Douglas Quaid]

S600BSB said:

I hope Nazanin's husband gets some sort of recognition - an honour or something - for the amazing job he has done keeping global attention on his wife's incarceration over all these years.

I suspect she’ll be giving him that tonight.

[Petrus1983]

andyA700 said:

Good to know she is on a plane along with the other guy who has been released. It won't be a direct flight unless it is a private jet, because the Iran Air flights to Heathrow are Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. A Mahan air flight - IRM114 - left for Istanbul just over half an hour ago.

Oman Air Force?



Eta - if you look at the shape of the window when she’s on the plane then I’d say that’s a very Gulfstream type window.

Edited by Petrus1983 on Wednesday 16th March 14:32

[Countdown]

Ian Geary said:

Another success for Russia

They've made Iran palatable again

Go team Putin!

It's odd how some countries are considered "palatable" and others aren't.

[andyA700]

Petrus1983 said:

andyA700 said:

Good to know she is on a plane along with the other guy who has been released. It won't be a direct flight unless it is a private jet, because the Iran Air flights to Heathrow are Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. A Mahan air flight - IRM114 - left for Istanbul just over half an hour ago.

Oman Air Force?



Eta - if you look at the shape of the window when she’s on the plane then I’d say that’s a very Gulfstream type window.

Edited by Petrus1983 on Wednesday 16th March 14:32

Yeah, well done, I hadn't heard about that. It makes sense, Iran and Oman have good relations.

https://www.flightradar24.com/MJN582/2b284833

[Petrus1983]

andyA700 said:

Yeah, well done, I hadn't heard about that. It makes sense, Iran and Oman have good relations.

https://www.flightradar24.com/MJN582/2b284833

I doubt it will be in the press until she’s safely at the British Embassy.


Eta - BBC are reporting the husband as saying she’s coming ‘home’ on Wednesday, so could be wrong afterall.

Edited by Petrus1983 on Wednesday 16th March 14:51

[LeadFarmer]

The peace and quiet for her husband is now over. Bet he's frantically trying to clean the house and soaking the mould from cups and pans in the bath

[Trevatanus]

Not sure if it’s how the app works, or was this a diversion?
Was not showing a destination earlier

[Petrus1983]

LeadFarmer said:

The peace and quiet for her husband is now over. Bet he's frantically trying to clean the house and soaking the mould from cups and pans in the bath

I was thinking about the daughter this morning - virtually her whole life has been without having a mother - it’s going to take a while for the new dynamics to settle in.

[Petrus1983]

Trevatanus said:

Not sure if it’s how the app works, or was this a diversion?
Was not showing a dest earlier

Standard approach.

I’m now wondering if she’ll be transferred to a British plane once /if she gets to Oman as we’ve got a big base out there but the Iranians probably wouldn’t allow us to fly over their airspace to pick them up directly.

[TTmonkey]

So we paid them their 400 million back to ensure this happens.

Did it have to take so long?

[Theraveda]

TTmonkey said:

So we paid them their 400 million back to ensure this happens.

Did it have to take so long?

No. Successive Governments made a pig's ear of the whole thing.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0014fzy

[Petrus1983]

TTmonkey said:

So we paid them their 400 million back to ensure this happens.

Did it have to take so long?

Sadly I’d say it’s more about forcing Putins hand than releasing them. £400m vs increased British military involvement is probably small change.

[TTmonkey]

Massive back slapping going on across party lines in the house just now.

[catso]

TTmonkey said:

So we paid them their 400 million back to ensure this happens.

Did it have to take so long?

Should have given them the (1970s) tanks instead.

[rjfp1962]

TTmonkey said:

So we paid them their 400 million back to ensure this happens.

Did it have to take so long?

Just listening to Foreign Secretary Liz Truss in the House Of Commons, saying much of this being acheived was a change in the Iranian government last year - I'm guessing when Hassan Rohani was succeeded by Ebrahim Raisi as Iranian president in August election last year..

[JagLover]

TTmonkey said:

So we paid them their 400 million back to ensure this happens.

Did it have to take so long?

Paying 400 million to secure her release sounds very much like paying a ransom to release hostages to me. Which might have some bearing on why it "took so long".

Hopefully Iran wont be looking to arrest further dual nationals in the future to give it leverage.

[bitchstewie]

Excellent news and all credit to her husband and everyone else who ensured her situation wasn't forgotten about.

[deadslow]

JagLover said:

TTmonkey said:

So we paid them their 400 million back to ensure this happens.

Did it have to take so long?

Paying 400 million to secure her release sounds very much like paying a ransom to release hostages to me. Which might have some bearing on why it "took so long".

Hopefully Iran wont be looking to arrest further dual nationals in the future to give it leverage.

the 400m was owed. This has been established in the highest courts. They should have paid it years ago and had her out.

Suddenly we need oil/gas and she's free in a fortnight.

Glad she's home, but no thanks to Boris et al.

[JagLover]

deadslow said:

the 400m was owed. This has been established in the highest courts. They should have paid it years ago and had her out.

Suddenly we need oil/gas and she's free in a fortnight.

Glad she's home, but no thanks to Boris et al.

It was owed but it was claimed unable to be paid due to sanctions that had been imposed upon Iran. Now the UK seems to have paid it to release what amounts to two hostages.

[deadslow]

JagLover said:

deadslow said:

the 400m was owed. This has been established in the highest courts. They should have paid it years ago and had her out.

Suddenly we need oil/gas and she's free in a fortnight.

Glad she's home, but no thanks to Boris et al.

It was owed but it was claimed unable to be paid due to sanctions that had been imposed upon Iran. Now the UK seems to have paid it to release what amounts to two hostages.

they've paid it to get oil; the hostage was left rotting in Iran for 6 years until current events lit a fire under Johnson's self-serving arse.