Iranian foreign minister said, UK has no choice but to pay the debt to the Iranian nation.

Iran press / Iran news: In an interview with Iranian newspaper, Hamshahri, Mohammad Javad Zarif added, the UK has been postponed paying it's debt to Iranian nation for 40 years, it has no choice but to pay the debt.

Zarif also said, Tehran has conducted talks with the UK on paying the sum, Iran press  reported.

Iran's foreign minister stated that the case is at a judicial level, and Iran has reached good results in the judicial process.

Britain owes Iran around £450m for a cancelled arms deal in the 1970s. The deal was made with the country’s then Shah, and would have seen 1,750 tanks and other vehicles sold by Britain to Iran.

However, the Shah was toppled in the Islamic Revolution of 1979 and almost none of the vehicles were delivered. Britain kept the money, sparking a decades-long legal wrangle between the two countries.

The UK has since agreed to pay back some of the debt, but says it is unable to transfer the money because of international sanctions on Iran.

The amount was reportedly transferred to a bank account controlled by the High Court in 2002, but has not been passed on to Iran. Talks to resolve the issue have been going on for many years.

UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt visited Iran on November to hold talks with Iranian officials including Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

Iran and UK are trying to solve four-decade legal dispute over hundreds of Chieftain tanks Tehran bought from the UK in 1976, but never received. 101/202

 

Read More:

UK Foreign Secretary arrives in Tehran for nuclear talks