UK's Boris Johnson leaves Iran, with family of jailed Zaghari-Ratcliffe awaiting news of her case

UK Foreign Minister Boris Johnson left Tehran on Sunday with the family of jailed British-Iranian charity worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe only a little clearer on what progress had been made in the case.

Johnson met President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday, who it was hoped might have sympathy with the jailed British-Iranian mother and work towards her release. 

Zaghari-Ratcliffe was jailed in Iran on what has been described as "trumped up" syping charges, which she and her supporters are completely false and she was only in the country to visit family.

Johnson has promised to do what he can to release the charity worker and during a meeting with the moderate president he is believed to have brought up her case

There has been no immediate comment from the foreign office on whether the talks were fruitful but a new court case against Zaghari-Ratcliffe was postponed on Sunday.

Her family are a awaiting a debrief from the foreign office on Johnson's talks, but appear optimistic that the visit did some good for Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

"Our family has no doubt that [Johnson's] presence and efforts to discuss Nazanin's case with the Iranian authorities yesterday made a difference to what happened to Nazanin’s court case today. And we hope for what might happen in a near tomorrow," her husband Richard Ratcliffe said, according to the Independent.

"Nazanin's court case was not held today in the wake of the foreign secretary [Johnson's] visit. This is undoubtedly a good sign... [he] also met with Nazanin's family last night to reassure them that Nazanin was a close concern, and that her case had been discussed in every meeting he held. I am expecting a fuller debrief... either Monday or Tuesday."

Boris blunder

Johnson insists the visit to Iran - only the third by a UK foreign minister in past 14 years - was "worthwhile" but avoided commenting on the case of Zaghari-Ratcliffe, which has been the focus of his visit by British media.

The UK foreign office was similarly evasive on the issue of the jailed British mother.

"The foreign secretary discussed the full range of regional and bilateral issues, including banking matters and our concerns about the consular cases of dual nationals," a UK foreign office spokesperson told AFP. 

"It has been a worthwhile visit and we leave with a sense that both sides want to keep up the momentum to resolve the difficult issues," it added.

Johnson is under considerable pressure to secure Zaghari-Ratcliffe's release, after a recent blunder when he falsely stated she had gone to Iran to "teach journalism".

His gaffe was widely condemned by her family and the Thomas Reuters Foundation charity she works for, and could have seen her prison sentence extended.

It has been a worthwhile visit and we leave with a sense that both sides want to keep up the momentum to resolve the difficult issues. - UK foreign office

He promised to leave "no stone unturned" to bring Zaghari-Ratcliffe home during his Iran visit.

"I will stress my grave concerns about our dual national consular cases and press for their release where there are humanitarian grounds to do so," Johnson said in a statement.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested during a family visit to Iran in April 2016. She was detained at Tehran airport while travelling with her three-year-old daughter who remains in in Iran with her grandmother. 

Her case is complicated by the political dynamics in the country and the fact that Iran does not recognise dual national status, so Zaghari-Ratcliffe is considered "Iranian" under local law.

Iran's judiciary is also part of the anti-western conservative wing of the country's political establishment and not likely to be swayed by Johnson's visit.

Frosty welcome

Despite hoped advances on this issue, Johnson faced criticism from Rouhani who attacked the UK's lukewarm relations with Iran despite Tehran agreeing a nuclear deal with world powers.

"Relations between the two countries have not matched the potential expected in the post-JCPOA (nuclear deal) atmosphere," Rouhani told Johnson, according to a statement released by his office.

Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, who met Johnson on Saturday, also joined in the chorus of criticism, saying other European countries had put in "much more effort" in mending relations with Iran.

"You haven't even solved the banking problems of the Iranian embassy in London," Larijani said, according to the country's news agency.

Johnson will now head to the UAE for talks with leaders there, and follows a trip to Muscat where the foreign minister met Oman's Sultan Qaboos bin Said.