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| Iran broadcasts pictures it says show jailed British mum Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe trained journalists | Iran broadcasts pictures it says show jailed British mum Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe trained journalists |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Iranian state TV has aired further allegations against a detained Iranian-British mother. | Iranian state TV has aired further allegations against a detained Iranian-British mother. |
| Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's husband said the claims appeared to be timed to further pressure the Government as it considers making a payment of around £450m to Tehran. | Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's husband said the claims appeared to be timed to further pressure the Government as it considers making a payment of around £450m to Tehran. |
| Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe's case has gained momentum in recent weeks after Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, was heavily criticised for erroneously telling a parliamentary committee she had been "teaching people journalism" when she was arrested last year. | Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe's case has gained momentum in recent weeks after Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, was heavily criticised for erroneously telling a parliamentary committee she had been "teaching people journalism" when she was arrested last year. |
| The 38-year-old charity worker is already serving a five-year prison sentence for allegedly planning the "soft toppling" of Iran's clerical government while travelling to the country with her 22-month-old daughter. | The 38-year-old charity worker is already serving a five-year prison sentence for allegedly planning the "soft toppling" of Iran's clerical government while travelling to the country with her 22-month-old daughter. |
| The new charges could add 16 years to her prison term. | The new charges could add 16 years to her prison term. |
| Last week, Iranian state television aired a seven-minute special report on Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe which included close-ups of an April 2010 pay stub from her previous employer, the BBC World Service Trust. | Last week, Iranian state television aired a seven-minute special report on Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe which included close-ups of an April 2010 pay stub from her previous employer, the BBC World Service Trust. |
| It also included an email from June 2010 in which she wrote about the "ZigZag Academy," a BBC World Service Trust project in which the trust trained "young aspiring journalists from Iran and Afghanistan through a secure online platform." | It also included an email from June 2010 in which she wrote about the "ZigZag Academy," a BBC World Service Trust project in which the trust trained "young aspiring journalists from Iran and Afghanistan through a secure online platform." |
| Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe left the BBC in 2011 and then joined the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of the news agency. | Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe left the BBC in 2011 and then joined the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of the news agency. |
| Both her husband, Richard Ratcliffe, and Thomson Reuters, have repeatedly stressed she was not training journalists or involved in any work regarding Iran while there. | |
| Although Mr Johnson later corrected his remarks, the Iranian TV report made a point of highlighting them. | Although Mr Johnson later corrected his remarks, the Iranian TV report made a point of highlighting them. |
| Mr Ratcliffe said the report and other Iranian comments about his wife seemed timed to exert as much pressure as possible on the British government. | Mr Ratcliffe said the report and other Iranian comments about his wife seemed timed to exert as much pressure as possible on the British government. |
| He told the Associated Press the material appeared to be from his wife's email, which investigators from the hard-line Revolutionary Guard immediately got access to after her arrest. | He told the Associated Press the material appeared to be from his wife's email, which investigators from the hard-line Revolutionary Guard immediately got access to after her arrest. |
| "It's trying to justify the new charges," Mr Ratcliffe said. | "It's trying to justify the new charges," Mr Ratcliffe said. |
| A spokesperson for BBC Media Action clarified Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe never worked for BBC Persian. | |
| They said she was employed as a projects assistant between between February 2009 and October 2010 for the BBC World Service Trust charity. | |
| "She further carried out some short-term contract work as an assistant for a project in Iraq for BBC World Service Trust," the spokesperson added. | |
| "Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe was never a journalism trainer but undertook administrative duties such as travel bookings, typing, and filing." | |
| The report comes as Britain and Iran discuss the release of some £400m held by London, a payment Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi made for Chieftain tanks which were never delivered. | The report comes as Britain and Iran discuss the release of some £400m held by London, a payment Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi made for Chieftain tanks which were never delivered. |
| The shah abandoned the throne in 1979 and the Islamic Revolution soon installed the clerically overseen system which endures today. | The shah abandoned the throne in 1979 and the Islamic Revolution soon installed the clerically overseen system which endures today. |
| Authorities in London and Tehran deny the payment has any link to Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe. | Authorities in London and Tehran deny the payment has any link to Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe. |
| However, a prisoner exchange in January 2016 which freed Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian and three other Iranian-Americans also saw the United States make a $400m cash delivery to Iran the same day. | However, a prisoner exchange in January 2016 which freed Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian and three other Iranian-Americans also saw the United States make a $400m cash delivery to Iran the same day. |
| That money too involved undelivered military equipment from the shah's era, although some US politicians have criticized the delivery as a ransom payment. | That money too involved undelivered military equipment from the shah's era, although some US politicians have criticized the delivery as a ransom payment. |
| Analysts and family members of dual nationals and others detained in Iran have suggested hard-liners in the Islamic Republic's security agencies use prisoners as bargaining chips for money or influence. | Analysts and family members of dual nationals and others detained in Iran have suggested hard-liners in the Islamic Republic's security agencies use prisoners as bargaining chips for money or influence. |
| A UN panel in September described "an emerging pattern involving the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of dual nationals" in Iran. | A UN panel in September described "an emerging pattern involving the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of dual nationals" in Iran. |
| Additional reporting by the Associated Press | Additional reporting by the Associated Press |