Nazanin appeals for release of detainee still in Iran

Tulip Siddiq MP tweeted a "first family selfie" sent to her by Nazanin smiling with her husband Richard and their daughter Gabriella, 7, the day after returning to Britain following six years in detention.

Nazanin is currently staying in a government safe house with her family following her return in the early hours of Thursday.

Ms Siddiq said the reunited couple were both “relentless in their pursuit of justice” as they spoke with her about Morad Tahbaz, who has not been allowed to leave Iran after being released from prison on furlough.

Mr Tahbaz is said to have family in Hampstead.

Nazanin landed at Brize Norton Airport in Oxfordshire along with Anoosheh Ashoori, after the UK finally agreed to settle a £400 million debt dating back to the 1970s.

In a tweet on Thursday evening, Ms Siddiq said: “So lovely to have uplifting conversations with Richard and Nazanin today.

“They are both relentless in their pursuit of justice and raised the plight of Morad Tahbaz with me. Here I was hoping to sleep for a week …

“Here’s their first family selfie! #NazaninIsFree.”

Foreign Office minister James Cleverly said the government was working to secure the return of Mr Tahbaz, telling BBC Breakfast: “He also has American nationality, which has in the eyes of the Iranians – not in ours – made his case more complicated.”

He added: “We will continue to work to secure his release and, obviously, we work in close coordination with the US on these issues as well.”

Nazanin was detained on security charges in 2016 by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard at Imam Khomeini airport after a holiday visit to Iran, where she introduced her daughter to her parents.

She was accused of plotting to overthrow the Iranian government.

Mr Ashoori, 67, was arrested in August 2017 having been accused of spying.

Both have consistently and vigorously denied the allegations.

Their release came after months of intensive diplomatic negotiations between London and Tehran.