Efforts to secure the release of Nazanin Zagari-Ratcliffe from detention in Iran have been complicated by the “hostility” of the Donald Trump administration, said former Foreign Minister Philip Hammond.
Giving evidence to the municipality’s foreign affairs committee, Lord Hammond said the arrival of President Joe Biden at the White House was key to the agreement that led to the release of the British-Iranian dual citizen earlier this year.
He also revealed how, as chancellor of the treasury, he failed to resolve a historic $ 400 million debt owed to Iran, which ultimately secured the deal because strict legal criteria were not met.
Nazanin Zagari-Ratcliffe arrives at RAF Brize Norton after her release from Iran (Leon Neal / Pennsylvania)
(PA conductor)
Lord Hammond, who was foreign minister when Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested on espionage charges in 2016, said she did not believe the debt was linked to a British tank order that was canceled after the 1979 Iranian revolution. was the original reason for her arrest.
At the time, he said Iranians were disappointed that an international agreement agreeing to halt its nuclear program had not led to the promised opening of trade and investment.
However, until 2019, when it became clear that debt was a problem, there was widespread agreement in the government that the United Kingdom had an obligation to repay the money.
Lord Hammond said that, as Chancellor, it was up to him, acting in a quasi-judicial capacity, to issue a payment license under the terms of the international sanctions regime.
Former Secretary of State Lord Hammond (Aaron Chown / Pennsylvania)
(PA Archive)
However, he could not do so until five criteria were met. These include a court that determines the exact amount to be paid, but he said the hearings for permission have been repeatedly postponed by the Iranians.
“When I was foreign minister, I did not appreciate the role of the chancellor in this process,” he told the commission.
“When I was foreign minister, I believed I had this process. When I was Chancellor, I found that the Chancellor had this process.
He said his role as a decision-maker was only to assess whether the five criteria had been met.
“If the five criteria are met, it is appropriate to issue a license. “If they didn’t, it wouldn’t be legal to issue a license,” he said.
“According to the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Code, neither ministers nor civil servants can advocate for illegal actions.
Lord Hammond said a change of administration in the United States in 2021, when he was out of office, finally allowed for an agreement with Tehran.
“During the Trump administration, reports from Washington were clearly hostile to a compromise with Iran. “Obviously we had the feeling that the letter of the law should be followed,” he said.
“There may have been a sense that after the transition to the Biden administration, there was a slightly calmer approach on the part of the US administration, perhaps more willingness on the part of the US administration to engage and discuss ways to routes can be found.
“Throughout the Trump administration, the administration’s hostility to (the nuclear deal with Iran) has been a complicating factor.
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