LONDON: Two British-Iranians imprisoned for years in Iran were reunited with their families in the early hours of Thursday, tears of joy and long hugs marking the culmination of years of campaigning and earlier false hopes.
Their release on Wednesday came as the British government confirmed it had paid a longstanding debt over a canceled defense contract, and as major powers inch closer to renewing the Iran nuclear deal in Vienna.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 43, a project manager for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, and 67-year-old engineer Anoosheh Ashoori touched down at RAF Brize Norton in southwest England just after 01:00am (0100 GMT), following a stopover in Oman.
Both appeared relaxed, smiling and waving briefly at the cameras before heading toward the building where their families were waiting.
As they stepped out of the plane, Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s seven-year-old daughter Gabriella could be heard asking “Is that mummy?” and then shouting “Mummy!” as she recognized her, a live video showed.
The footage, posted on Instagram by Ashoori’s daughter Elika, streamed the two families’ first meeting after years of enforced separation — Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been detained since 2016, and Ashoori since 2017.
Gabriella ran toward her mother as the released pair entered the room, and loud sobbing could be heard as the families kissed and held each other.
“Do I smell nice?” Zaghari-Ratcliffe, clinging to her daughter, asked in mock surprise. “I haven’t had a shower in 24 hours!”
The project manager worked for the philanthropic arm of the Thomson Reuters news and data agency and was arrested in Tehran on a visit to family in 2016, accused of plotting to overthrow the regime.
Ashoori, a retired engineer from southeast London, was arrested in 2017 and jailed for 10 years on charges of spying for Israel.
Both families believe they were being held as political prisoners until a debt between Britain and Iran was settled.
The UK has consciously avoided saying the detention of the pair, and others held in Iran, was linked to the debt for an order of tanks that was canceled after the 1979 Islamic revolution.
But soon after the release was announced, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss confirmed that London and Tehran had resolved the £394-million ($515-million) issue “after highly complex and exhaustive negotiations.”
Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Wednesday that Iran had received the money but that it was “wrong to link Iran receiving its debt ... to the release of these people.”
Truss said the money can only be used for humanitarian goods.
The pair’s release also comes as major powers in Vienna close in on renewing the landmark 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on regulating Iran’s nuclear program.
The deal gives Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program, and Tehran on Wednesday said that “two issues” remain with the US to restore the deal.
Before her return, Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s husband, Richard Ratcliffe, who has twice gone on hunger strike to highlight his wife’s plight, said “the first thing she wanted was for me to make her a cup of tea.”
“I’m relieved that the problems were solved,” he said, adding that the government should make sure “it doesn’t happen again.”
Ashoori’s family said their “family’s foundations were rocked” when he had been detained.
“Now, we can look forward to rebuilding those same foundations with our cornerstone back in place,” they said in a statement.
Truss, who was waiting with the families, wrote that it was “great to see both Anoosheh and Nazanin in such good spirits.”
She also announced that Morad Tahbaz, an Iranian-American who also holds British nationality, had been released from prison “on furlough” to his Tehran home.
Tahbaz was arrested alongside other environmentalists in January 2018 and sentenced to 10 years in jail for “conspiring with America.”
Addressing parliament on Wednesday, Truss said: “The agonies endured by Nazanin, Anoosheh, Morad and their families must never happen again.”
Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK’s chief executive, said the government must renew “its calls for the release of the UK nationals Mehran Raoof and Morad Tahbaz, both of whom are still going through an ordeal all too similar to Nazanin and Anoosheh’s.”
Raoof, a labor rights activist, was detained in October 2020 and was being held in solitary confinement, according to Amnesty.
Dual nationals from Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Sweden and the United States have also been arrested in similar circumstances.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe, fellow British-Iranian reunited with family in UK after Tehran release
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Zaghari-Ratcliffe, fellow British-Iranian reunited with family in UK after Tehran release
- British government confirms it had paid a longstanding debt over a canceled defense contract
- Major powers inch closer to renewing the Iran nuclear deal in Vienna
Erdogan ally floats Turkiye constitutional amendment to let him extend his tenure
ANKARA: The main political ally of longstanding Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that a constitutional amendment should be considered to allow the president to run again in elections set for 2028.
After his re-election last year, Erdogan is serving his last term as president unless parliament calls an early election, according to the constitution. He has ruled Turkiye for more than 21 years, first as prime minister and then as president.
“Wouldn’t it be a natural and right choice to have our president elected once again if terror is eradicated, and if a heavy blow is dealt to inflation and Turkiye secures political and economic stability,” said Devlet Bahceli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), which is allied with Erdogan’s ruling AK Party (AKP).
A constitutional amendment to secure Erdogan’s ability to re-run in the presidential elections should be considered, he said in a parliamentary speech to MHP lawmakers.
Bahceli, a staunch nationalist, rattled Turkish politics last month by suggesting that the jailed leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) could be allowed to speak in parliament if he announces an end to the group’s insurgency.
Some analysts said the shock suggestion might be motivated by an AKP-MHP desire to win the support of the pro-Kurdish DEM Party, parliament’s third-biggest, for a constitutional change that could boost Erdogan’s prospects in 2028 elections.
A constitutional change can be put to a referendum if 360 lawmakers in the 600-seat parliament back it. An early election also needs the support of 360 MPs.
AKP and its allies have 321 seats while DEM has 57.
A tiny village in India where Kamala Harris has ancestral roots is praying for her victory
There's little to distinguish the village of Thulasendrapuram from any other rural community in Tamil Nadu, except its connection to a woman who could become America's first leader with South Asian roots.
As millions of Americans vote, Harris has people rooting for her from thousands of miles away in a village surrounded by rice paddies and coconut trees, where her mother's family has ancestral ties. They talk about her at the local tea shop. Banners and billboards bearing her face are seen throughout the community.
“Our deity is a very powerful God. If we pray well to him, he will make her victorious,” said M. Natarajan, the temple priest that led the prayers in front of the image of Hindu deity Ayyanar, a form of Lord Shiva.
Harris’ maternal grandfather was born in the village, about 350 kilometers (215 miles) from the southern coastal city of Chennai, more than 100 years ago. As an adult, he moved to Chennai, where he worked as a high-ranking government official until his retirement.
Harris has never visited Thulasendrapuram and she has no living relatives in the village, but people here still venerate the family that made it big in the U.S.
“Our village ancestors' granddaughter is running as a U.S. presidential candidate. Her victory will be happy news for every one of us,” Natarajan said.
The village's sudden fame has helped bring money into the village. Recently, construction began on a water storage tank with funds donated by a local bank. Village residents say it will carry a plaque with Harris’ name.
Harris’ late mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was born in India. After moving to the U.S. to study, she married a Jamaican man, and they named their daughter Kamala, a Sanskrit word for “lotus flower.”
Other than trips during her childhood, Harris hasn’t visited India much — particularly not since becoming vice president — but she has often spoken emotionally about her ties to her late mother’s country of birth. On Tuesday, she released a campaign video highlighting her mother, who arrived in the U.S. at age 19 and became a cancer researcher.
Titled “Mother,” the video ends with a narrator saying: “This daughter of Shyamala, this daughter of the American story, is ready to lead us forward.”
Harris has often talked about how she was guided by the values of her Indian-born grandfather and mother. She has also spoken of her love of south Indian food, especially a type of steamed rice cake called idli.
Harris’ name is engraved in a list of donors — her aunt Sarala Gopalan gave money to the temple in her name — along with that of her grandfather. Outside, a large banner wishes “the daughter of the land” success in the election.
On Tuesday, the village temple also received rare international visitors: two American tourists and one from the U.K., all wearing black t-shirts that said “Kamala Freakin Harris.”
Manikandan Ganesan, a villager who runs a small store near the temple, said Harris’ bid for the presidency has made the village famous. He hopes Harris will eventually visit them.
“Even if she mentioned that she would visit our village, it would make us very happy,” Ganesan said. “Her victory itself will be a big source of happiness for us.”
Village residents also prayed for Harris’ victory in 2020, and set off firecrackers when she became the U.S. Vice President.
For women of the village, the candidate's journey is a source of inspiration.
Local politician Arulmozhi Sudhakar said Harris embodies a significant step toward female empowerment in places like Thulasendrapuram, where a majority of women continue to face discrimination and gender inequality.
“From the time when women were not even allowed to step out of their house, to now a woman from our village contesting in the U.S. presidential election — this brings happiness for us,” Sudhakar said. “The coming generations will see her as a role model to succeed in life.”
Ukraine’s military says it shot down 48 drones and two missiles overnight
KYIV: The Ukrainian military said on Tuesday it shot down 48 out of 79 drones and two missiles launched by Russia overnight.
The air force said the location of 30 other drones had been lost, while another had returned to Russia.
India foreign minister says vandalism of Hindu temples deeply concerning
- Vandalism incident happened weeks after Ottawa expelled six Indian diplomats, linking them to killing of Sikh separatist leader in 2023
- Canada has accused India of conducting a broad campaign against South Asian dissidents in Canada, which New Delhi denies
SYDNEY: India foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Tuesday the vandalism of a Hindu temple in Canada on Monday was deeply concerning.
“What happened yesterday at the Hindu temple in Canada was obviously deeply concerning,” he told reporters in the Australian capital Canberra while on an official visit.
The incident happened weeks after Ottawa expelled six Indian diplomats, linking them to the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in 2023 in Canada. Canada has accused the Indian government of conducting a broad campaign against South Asian dissidents in Canada, which New Delhi denies.
The incident has increased tensions between Canada and India, and between Sikh separatists and Indian diplomats.
Two Hindu temples were also vandalized in Canberra last month, which Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said was upsetting for members of the Indian community.
“People across Australia have a right to be safe and respected, people also have a right to peaceful protest, people have a right to express their views peacefully,” she told reporters.
“We draw a line between that and violence, incitement of hatred or vandalism,” she added.
Wong said Australia had expressed its views to India about Canada’s allegations over the targeting of Sikh separatists, and Canberra respected Canada’s judicial process. Jaishankar said it was unacceptable that Indian diplomats had been placed under surveillance by Canada.
“Canada has developed a pattern of making allegations without providing specifics,” he said.
India foreign minister says vandalism of Hindu temples deeply concerning
- Canada has accused the Indian government of conducting a broad campaign against South Asian dissidents in Canada, which New Delhi denies
SYDNEY: India foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Tuesday the vandalism of a Hindu temple in Canada on Monday was deeply concerning.
“What happened yesterday at the Hindu temple in Canada was obviously deeply concerning,” he told reporters in the Australian capital Canberra while on an official visit.
The incident happened weeks after Ottawa expelled six Indian diplomats, linking them to the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in 2023 in Canada. Canada has accused the Indian government of conducting a broad campaign against South Asian dissidents in Canada, which New Delhi denies.
The incident has increased tensions between Canada and India, and between Sikh separatists and Indian diplomats.
Two Hindu temples were also vandalized in Canberra last month, which Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said was upsetting for members of the Indian community.
“People across Australia have a right to be safe and respected, people also have a right to peaceful protest, people have a right to express their views peacefully,” she told reporters.
“We draw a line between that and violence, incitement of hatred or vandalism,” she added.
Wong said Australia had expressed its views to India about Canada’s allegations over the targeting of Sikh separatists, and Canberra respected Canada’s judicial process. Jaishankar said it was unacceptable that Indian diplomats had been placed under surveillance by Canada.
“Canada has developed a pattern of making allegations without providing specifics,” he said.
