{"id":6080,"date":"2026-02-22T11:27:41","date_gmt":"2026-02-22T11:27:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jubaglobal.com\/?p=6080"},"modified":"2026-02-22T11:27:42","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T11:27:42","slug":"uk-condemns-10-year-sentence-handed-to-british-couple-in-iran-diplomatic-row-deepens-amid-nuclear-talks-standoff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/directtopic.com\/jubaglobal.com\/uk-condemns-10-year-sentence-handed-to-british-couple-in-iran-diplomatic-row-deepens-amid-nuclear-talks-standoff\/","title":{"rendered":"UK Condemns 10-Year Sentence Handed to British Couple in Iran: Diplomatic Row Deepens Amid Nuclear Talks Standoff"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1320\" height=\"1968\" src=\"https:\/\/directtopic.com\/jubaglobal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1977\/2026\/02\/IMG_3052.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6081\" srcset=\"https:\/\/directtopic.com\/jubaglobal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1977\/2026\/02\/IMG_3052.jpeg 1320w, https:\/\/directtopic.com\/jubaglobal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1977\/2026\/02\/IMG_3052-768x1145.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/directtopic.com\/jubaglobal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1977\/2026\/02\/IMG_3052-1030x1536.jpeg 1030w, https:\/\/directtopic.com\/jubaglobal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1977\/2026\/02\/IMG_3052-1024x1527.jpeg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1320px) 100vw, 1320px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>London, February 22, 2026 \u2013 The British government has issued its strongest condemnation yet after an Iranian court sentenced a British-Iranian couple to a combined 10 years in prison on charges widely viewed as politically motivated. Foreign Secretary David Lammy described the ruling as \u201cutterly unjust\u201d and \u201ca clear act of hostage diplomacy,\u201d vowing to use \u201cevery diplomatic lever\u201d to secure their immediate release. The case has reignited tensions between London and Tehran at a time when fragile indirect nuclear negotiations remain stalled and U.S.-Iran relations are deteriorating under the second Trump administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Case: Who Are the Couple?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The defendants\u2014identified in British media as <strong>Anousheh Ashoori<\/strong> (67) and his wife <strong>Khadijeh (Ziba) Ashoori<\/strong> (63)\u2014are dual British-Iranian nationals who had lived in the UK for decades. Anousheh, a retired engineer, was first arrested in August 2017 during a family visit to Iran on charges of \u201cespionage for Israel\u201d and \u201cgathering classified information against national security.\u201d After more than three years in solitary confinement and what his family described as severe psychological pressure, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>His wife Khadijeh was arrested in March 2022 while attempting to visit him in Evin Prison. Iranian authorities later charged her with \u201ccollaboration with a hostile government\u201d and \u201cpropaganda against the state.\u201d Both convictions relied heavily on forced confessions obtained under duress, according to human rights groups and the couple\u2019s legal team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On Thursday, February 20, 2026, Branch 26 of Tehran\u2019s Revolutionary Court upheld Anousheh\u2019s 10-year sentence and imposed an additional 10-year sentence on Khadijeh (to run concurrently with any future charges). The couple\u2019s lawyers were not permitted to attend key hearings, and appeals have been repeatedly delayed or rejected without transparent reasoning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>UK Government Response: \u201cState-Sponsored Hostage-Taking\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaking outside Downing Street on Friday, Foreign Secretary Lammy stated:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe sentencing of Anousheh and Khadijeh Ashoori is an outrageous miscarriage of justice and another blatant example of Iran\u2019s state-sponsored hostage-taking. These are innocent people caught in a cruel political game. The UK will not rest until they are safely back home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the verdicts \u201cunacceptable\u201d and instructed the Foreign, Commonwealth &amp; Development Office (FCDO) to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Summon the Iranian charg\u00e9 d\u2019affaires in London for the third time in 18 months<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Impose new targeted sanctions on Iranian judges and prosecutors linked to the case<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Accelerate efforts to coordinate with allies (U.S., France, Germany, Canada) on a joint diplomatic push<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Explore further designations under the UK\u2019s Iran Human Rights sanctions regime<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The opposition Conservative Party accused the Labour government of being \u201ctoo soft\u201d on Tehran, while Liberal Democrats and some Labour backbenchers urged an immediate downgrade of diplomatic relations and the expulsion of Iranian diplomats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Iran\u2019s Position: \u201cJudicial Independence\u201d and Retaliation Warnings<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Iran\u2019s judiciary spokesman Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje\u2019i defended the sentences, insisting the cases were handled \u201cin full accordance with the law\u201d and unrelated to politics. Iranian state media portrayed the couple as part of a \u201cBritish espionage network\u201d targeting the Islamic Republic\u2019s nuclear and military programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tehran\u2019s Foreign Ministry warned that any escalation\u2014particularly new sanctions or expulsions\u2014would be met with \u201creciprocal measures,\u201d hinting at possible further arrests of dual nationals or restrictions on remaining British diplomatic staff in Tehran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Broader Context: Hostage Diplomacy and Nuclear Impasse<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Ashoori case is the latest in a long pattern of dual-national detentions that human rights organizations have labeled systematic hostage-taking to extract concessions. Other high-profile cases include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe (released 2022 after years of pressure)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Morad Tahbaz (Anglo-American-Iranian environmentalist, released 2023)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Alireza Akbari (executed 2023 despite UK pleas)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Multiple other British-Iranian citizens still held or recently released<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Analysts note that such detentions often intensify when nuclear talks falter or when Western governments increase pressure over Iran\u2019s uranium enrichment, ballistic-missile program, or support for regional proxies. With U.S.-Iran indirect talks frozen since late 2025 and President Trump threatening military options if Tehran does not accept a new nuclear deal, the environment for hostage releases has grown even more hostile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Family, Campaigners, and Next Steps<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Anousheh and Khadijeh\u2019s daughter, <strong>Nazanin Ashoori<\/strong>, who has led a high-profile campaign in London, told BBC News:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMy parents are being used as bargaining chips. Ten years for my father, now ten for my mother\u2014this is cruelty, not justice. Every day they spend in Evin is a day stolen from our family.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Free Nazanin and other campaigns are planning intensified protests outside the Iranian embassy in London and are calling for a full economic boycott of Iranian goods until all dual nationals are released.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For now, the Ashoori case stands as one of the clearest symbols of the toxic entanglement between Iran\u2019s domestic repression, its nuclear ambitions, and the West\u2019s failed attempts to secure a new diplomatic breakthrough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By: Juba Global News Network | JubaGlobal.com<br><em>Compiled from statements by the UK FCDO, BBC, Reuters, The Guardian, Iran International, and human rights reports as of February 22, 2026.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>London, February 22, 2026 \u2013 The British government has issued its strongest condemnation yet after&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1199,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[830,643,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-breaking-news","category-more-articles","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/directtopic.com\/jubaglobal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/directtopic.com\/jubaglobal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/directtopic.com\/jubaglobal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/directtopic.com\/jubaglobal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1199"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/directtopic.com\/jubaglobal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6080"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/directtopic.com\/jubaglobal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6080\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6082,"href":"https:\/\/directtopic.com\/jubaglobal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6080\/revisions\/6082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/directtopic.com\/jubaglobal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/directtopic.com\/jubaglobal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/directtopic.com\/jubaglobal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}