Two British nationals have been arrested in Iran, the UK Foreign Office has confirmed, following reports from Iranian state-run media.
The pair, a man and a woman, were detained in the south-eastern city of Kerman and are accused of unspecified security-related offences.
Iranian authorities have not publicly identified the individuals but have released a blurred photograph showing them meeting with the British ambassador, Hugo Shorter, at the prosecutor’s office in Kerman on Wednesday.
Also present at the meeting were Kerman’s prosecutor, Mehdi Bakhshi, and Rahman Jalali, the deputy governor general for security and law enforcement affairs, according to Iran’s state news agency, IRNA.
The UK Foreign Office has issued a stark warning about travel to Iran, advising against all visits due to the high risk of arrest, questioning, or detention for British and British-Iranian dual nationals.
“Having a British passport or connections to the UK can be reason enough for the Iranian authorities to detain you,” the official travel guidance states.
Iran has a history of detaining foreign nationals, particularly those with dual citizenship, often on charges related to espionage or national security. Human rights organizations argue that such arrests are politically motivated, with detainees frequently used as bargaining chips in diplomatic negotiations.
The latest arrests come amid ongoing tensions between Iran and Western nations. In 2023, Iran executed British-Iranian national Alireza Akbari, accusing him of spying for the UK.
Akbari denied the charges, claiming he had been tortured into making a false confession. That same year, UK-US-Iranian environmentalist Morad Tahbaz was released as part of a prisoner swap deal between Iran and the United States, which also involved the transfer of $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets from South Korea.
The case of British-Iranian citizens Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori also highlights Iran’s strategy of leveraging foreign detainees for political or financial gain.
Both were freed in 2022 following the UK’s payment of a longstanding £650 million debt to Iran, demonstrating the link between high-profile detentions and broader diplomatic negotiations.
The UK government has not disclosed further details about the latest arrests, nor has it confirmed whether diplomatic negotiations are underway for their release.
However, the Foreign Office stated that it is “urgently seeking further information from Iranian authorities” and providing consular support to the families of those detained.
The arrests will likely heighten existing tensions between the UK and Iran, adding to ongoing concerns over Iran’s treatment of foreign nationals.
British officials continue to emphasize the risks of travel to Iran, urging UK citizens to heed government warnings and avoid the country entirely.
As the situation develops, human rights organizations and diplomatic observers will be closely monitoring Iran’s handling of the detainees.
The latest incident underscores the broader geopolitical complexities surrounding foreign nationals in Iran, raising concerns about their safety and the motivations behind their detention.
This article was created using automation technology and was thoroughly edited and fact-checked by one of our editorial staff members