Iran Press/ Iran News: The Iranian team was undergoing formalities to exchange with the English team.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was arrested for spying for Britain in Iran, was transferred to Imam Khomeini International Airport after her five-year sentence had expired and handed over to the British team on Wednesday.
$530 million of Iran’s blocked assets were transferred to Iran’s account before Zaghari was released.
The initial dispute centered on a 1970s defense deal between the Iranian defense ministry and International Military Services (IMS), a venture wholly owned by the MoD.
IMS agreed on a deal in 1971 to sell the shah of Iran more than 1,500 Chieftain tanks and armored vehicles. The contracts were canceled in February 1979 after the shah was deposed in a revolution. Iran had already paid for the undelivered tanks and demanded its money back.
What is the IMS debt?
Following the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, the British government canceled an order for 1,500 Chieftain tanks and armored vehicles.
The order was being handled by what was the then Ministry of Defence’s arms-trading subsidiary - International Military Services.
The order had already been paid for when it was canceled. The debt owed following the non-delivery of the tanks has been estimated at £400m.
Last November, UK Foreign Office Minister James Cleverly told MPs the government accepted liability for the debt, but said settling the matter was “not easy” due to sanctions imposed on Iran.
“The UK government recognizes that we have a duty to legally repay this debt, and we continue to explore all legal options to resolve this 40-year-old case,” he said in the House of Commons.
However, he added: “We do not accept British dual nationals being used as diplomatic leverage.”
A High Court hearing on the question of the IMS debt repayment had been scheduled for April 2021 but was adjourned at the request of the Iranian defense ministry. A new hearing date has yet to be set.
Mr. Ratcliffe has previously accused the government of being “too timid” in its negotiations with Iran, and recently went on hunger strike to put pressure on ministers to go further to secure his wife’s release.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was handed over to the English team at around 14:15. Of course, formalities were underway for her exchange at Imam Khomeini International Airport.
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Who is the Nazanin Zaghari?
Nazanin Zaghari, who was spying for Britain in Iran under the guise of a journalist and was arrested for the same crime, ended her five-year sentence in exchange for releasing $ 530 million in blocked Iranian property and the release of an Iranian through administrative procedures.
Zaghari’s arrest in 2016 led to the arrest of 50 British spies in Iran. The job of this head of the spy network was to train spies, so following the arrest of this person, several spy networks were dismantled, and critical documents of Britain’s role in spying in other countries were provided to Iran.
According to official sources, the Zaghari exchange has nothing to do with the JCPOA talks, and in exchange for the release of $530 million worth of blocked Iranian property and the release of an Iranian, there was basically no discussion of a prisoner exchange in the JCPOA talks.
Who is Nazanin Zaghari and what were her activities?
Nazanin Zaghari was in charge of MI6 and the British Foreign Office in Southwest Asia and North Africa, where she has been active in espionage networks under cover of a journalist and in shaping color revolutions in some countries.
In some countries where this British spy had a mission, a color revolution later occurred. Zaghari used to gather information through so-called journalism courses. On the other hand, she played a very influential role in shaping the protests.
According to technical information obtained from Zaghari, she has been directly and indirectly responsible for 15 projects in Lebanon, Morocco, Egypt, Yemen, Ukraine, Georgia, etc.
Although Britain has requested an exchange since her arrest, Iran has identified the playing court and the return of Nazanin Zaghari, which demonstrates the power of Iranian diplomacy.
Zaghari had received large sums of money in exchange for the responsibility of setting up an Iranian section in one of the British spy agencies to carry out two preliminary and advanced projects called Iran and a project related to women.
Zaghari's most critical mission in region
In two projects related to Iran, she has been responsible for training and employing spies, under the auspices of a journalist, and in these courses, she has taught topics such as how to collect and exit information safely and even programs planned during possible arrests and secure information transfer.
Zaghari is a double citizen who started her activity in 1993 and was one of the initiators of the Persian BBC in 1987. Zaghari is the most critical function in the spy training area and plays a significant role in the colorful revolutions of the countries.
It is worth mentioning that Zaghari was released from prison a few days ago at the end of her 6-year sentence and was living at her home in Tehran.
Nazanin Zaghari, a $ 530 million spy, is ready to fly to the UK after an exchange and formalities, but what must not be overlooked is an attempt by Iranian intelligence officers in the intelligence departments of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps to expose espionage activities and arrest people like Zaghari.
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