UK demands Iran ends detention of British nationals for diplomatic ‘leverage’

Senior Tory MP calls on government to condemn ‘industrialised hostage-taking’

Protest against the Islamic regime of Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini (REUTERS)

The UK has called on Iran to end its practice of detaining British and other foreign nationals for “diplomatic leverage” after individuals with links to Britain were reportedly arrested in connection with protests.

Downing Street said officials were still “urgently” seeking information after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed on Sunday they had arrested seven individuals “related to the UK” – including some dual British-Iranian nationals.

A No 10 spokesman denied Iranian claims that Britain had been involved in “inciting” riots amid a wave of protests which have shaken the country’s regime in recent months.

“We are urgently seeking information from the Iranian authorities on the reports of those Iranian dual nationals,” the spokesman said.

“We have always said that we will never accept our nationals being used for diplomatic leverage. We urge the government of Iran to stop its practice of unfairly detaining British and other foreign nationals.”

No 10 also said that current Foreign Office advice warning British nationals against travel to Iran reflected the “high risk” they could now be arrested or detained.

Tehran’s foreign ministry has spoken only cryptically of an alleged UK-linked network said to be arrested over the weekend.

The alleged UK-linked network was based in the southern province of Kerman and has been accused of “planning, leading and producing content as well as field actions in the recent riots”, the official Irna news agency claimed.

“Some countries, especially [Britain], had a non-constructive role in relation to the recent developments in Iran,” foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani told reporters on Monday. “Their role was quite provocative in inciting extremism and riots.”

No names of any dual nationals have been made public. The protests in Iran were sparked by the death in detention of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who fell into a coma after she was abducted by the regime’s morality police for allegedly wearing clothes deemed un-Islamic.

The clerical regime alleges that Iran’s foreign rivals, including the US, Israel and Saudi Arabia, are behind the unrest, which it and its defenders abroad describe as “riots”.

Earlier on Wednesday, senior Tory MP Alicia Kearns, chair of the foreign affairs select committee, called on Rishi Sunak’s government to issue clear condemnation of “industrialised hostage-taking” by Iran.

“As we see more and more states use hostage-taking – it has become industrialised over the last few years, you have China, you have Turkey, you have Iran, you have others – it’s important that you call it out for what it is,” she told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

“I recognise that diplomats sometimes find that diplomatic language helps, but actually I think it ends up allowing countries to get around it by claiming it’s just a small issue within their legal system, whereas actually it’s industrialised hostage-taking.”

Meanwhile, Labour has called on the government to impose so-called Magnitsky sanctions – targeting human rights abuses – on those involved in suppressing the Iranian protests.

Shadow foreign secretary David Lammy said: “The killings and repression being carried out by the Iranian regime against courageous Iranian protesters seeking a better future is appalling. There must be an end to impunity.”

The government has introduced a wave of sanctions on Iran in response to its crackdown on the protests. Iran’s communications minister Issa Zarepour, a range of law enforcement and IRGC officials involved in the crackdown were placed on a sanctions list, the Foreign Office announced in November.

No 10 pointed to the existing sanctions and foreign secretary James Cleverly summoning Iran’s ambassador in protest over the “appalling” level of violence when asked about Labour’s call for action based on Magnitsky legislation.

Asked about the prospect of further sanctions, the Downing Street spokesperson said: “We never talk about sanctions ahead of time.”