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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/11/british-australian-women-detained-arrested-iran-tehran
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| Two British-Australian women detained in Iran as tensions rise | Two British-Australian women detained in Iran as tensions rise |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Two British-Australian women and another foreign national, also believed to be Australian, have been detained in Iran, the Guardian understands. | |
| The Times of London has reported a blogger who was travelling through Asia with her Australian boyfriend, and an academic who studied at Cambridge University and has been working at a university in Australia, were seized in separate incidents. | The Times of London has reported a blogger who was travelling through Asia with her Australian boyfriend, and an academic who studied at Cambridge University and has been working at a university in Australia, were seized in separate incidents. |
| The two women are believed to be currently held at the Evin prison in Tehran, where Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe a 41-year-old British-Iranian national, has been incarcerated on spying charges since 2016. | The two women are believed to be currently held at the Evin prison in Tehran, where Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe a 41-year-old British-Iranian national, has been incarcerated on spying charges since 2016. |
| BBC Persian has also reported a woman and her Australian partner were detained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard for camping in a military area around Jajrood in Tehran province. | BBC Persian has also reported a woman and her Australian partner were detained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard for camping in a military area around Jajrood in Tehran province. |
| The British Foreign Office declined to comment. | |
| Troubled waters: Australia bets on Trump in Middle East deployment | Troubled waters: Australia bets on Trump in Middle East deployment |
| The arrests come amid increasing tensions between Australia, Britain, the United States and Iran. In August, the Australia prime minister, Scott Morrison, said Australia would join a US-led mission in the Strait of Hormuz. | The arrests come amid increasing tensions between Australia, Britain, the United States and Iran. In August, the Australia prime minister, Scott Morrison, said Australia would join a US-led mission in the Strait of Hormuz. |
| In August Morrison said Australia would send forces to the Middle East because “destabilising behaviour” in the Gulf was a threat to Australian interests. | In August Morrison said Australia would send forces to the Middle East because “destabilising behaviour” in the Gulf was a threat to Australian interests. |
| Australia’s foreign affairs department officially recommends citizens reconsider their need to travel to Iran citing a “risk of arbitrary detention or arrest”. | Australia’s foreign affairs department officially recommends citizens reconsider their need to travel to Iran citing a “risk of arbitrary detention or arrest”. |
| “There is a risk that foreigners, including Australians, could be arbitrarily detained or arrested in Iran,” the Department of Foreign Affairs advice states. | “There is a risk that foreigners, including Australians, could be arbitrarily detained or arrested in Iran,” the Department of Foreign Affairs advice states. |
| “We can’t guarantee consular access if you are detained or arrested. We also can’t guarantee access to legal representation.” | “We can’t guarantee consular access if you are detained or arrested. We also can’t guarantee access to legal representation.” |
| University of Melbourne academic Meimanat Hosseini Chavoshi, an Australian-Iranian dual national, was detained in Iran in December last year after being accused of “social espionage” and “collaborating” with the West. | University of Melbourne academic Meimanat Hosseini Chavoshi, an Australian-Iranian dual national, was detained in Iran in December last year after being accused of “social espionage” and “collaborating” with the West. |
| However, the latest incidents are thought to be the first time British passport holders who do not have Iranian nationality have been imprisoned in Tehran in recent years. | However, the latest incidents are thought to be the first time British passport holders who do not have Iranian nationality have been imprisoned in Tehran in recent years. |
| Tulip Siddiq, the British MP who represents Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her family, said: “Iran have raised the stakes again and shown the UK’s soft diplomatic responses to Iran’s illegal and inhumane treatment of British prisoners has not worked. This is a wake-up call for the prime minister and the government to act urgently to bring our innocent citizens home.” | Tulip Siddiq, the British MP who represents Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her family, said: “Iran have raised the stakes again and shown the UK’s soft diplomatic responses to Iran’s illegal and inhumane treatment of British prisoners has not worked. This is a wake-up call for the prime minister and the government to act urgently to bring our innocent citizens home.” |
| Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been held in Iran since being arrested while visiting relatives in April 2016. The regime accused her of working to “spread propaganda against Iran”, a charge she has strenuously and consistently denied. | Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been held in Iran since being arrested while visiting relatives in April 2016. The regime accused her of working to “spread propaganda against Iran”, a charge she has strenuously and consistently denied. |
| Boris Johnson, then the foreign secretary, was severely criticised over his handling of the case after he erroneously told the Commons that Zaghari-Ratcliffe was teaching journalism while in Iran. | Boris Johnson, then the foreign secretary, was severely criticised over his handling of the case after he erroneously told the Commons that Zaghari-Ratcliffe was teaching journalism while in Iran. |
| Zaghari-Ratcliffe was accused by Tehran’s prosecutor general of running a “BBC Persian online journalism course, which was aimed at recruiting and training people to spread propaganda against Iran”. | Zaghari-Ratcliffe was accused by Tehran’s prosecutor general of running a “BBC Persian online journalism course, which was aimed at recruiting and training people to spread propaganda against Iran”. |
| She briefly worked for BBC Media Action, the corporation’s international development charity, but had left more than five years before her arrest. At that time, she was working as a project manager for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the news agency’s charitable arm, which has made clear she is not employed as a journalist and was in the country solely in a personal capacity. | She briefly worked for BBC Media Action, the corporation’s international development charity, but had left more than five years before her arrest. At that time, she was working as a project manager for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the news agency’s charitable arm, which has made clear she is not employed as a journalist and was in the country solely in a personal capacity. |
| Johnson later corrected his mistake but it was used against her in court. Zaghari-Ratcliffe was sentenced to five years in prison and has suffered from mental and physical health problems during her incarceration. | Johnson later corrected his mistake but it was used against her in court. Zaghari-Ratcliffe was sentenced to five years in prison and has suffered from mental and physical health problems during her incarceration. |
| Last month her relatives said she and her fellow inmates in the notorious Evin prison had been placed under a strict new regime, meaning their visiting rights were restricted and they were no longer allowed to make international calls. | Last month her relatives said she and her fellow inmates in the notorious Evin prison had been placed under a strict new regime, meaning their visiting rights were restricted and they were no longer allowed to make international calls. |
| Another Evin detainee whose case has made headline is Aras Amiri, an Iranian who has permanent resident status in Britain. She lost her appeal last month against a 10-year jail sentence in Tehran after being accused of spying for the UK while she was visiting a sick relative last year. | |
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