UK downplays chances of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’srelease despite reports in Iran

The UK Foreign Office said “legal discussions are ongoing” despite the claim made on Iranian state TV, which cited an anonymous official

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her husband Richard Ratcliffe. Picture: Family Handout/PA

UK officials have downplayed the prospect of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s imminent release from Iran, after state TV suggested Britain would pay a £400 million debt to secure her release.

Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of the British-Iranian charity worker, said the family had not been updated, as hopes were raised by the suggestion the long-running dispute had been resolved.