Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori arrive in UK after being freed from Iranon March 17, 2022 at 1:43 am

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British-Iranian nationals Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori touched down at RAF Brize Norton just after 01:00 GMT.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori

British-Iranian nationals Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori are back in the UK after being freed from years of Iranian detention.

The pair touched down at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire just after 01:00 GMT on Thursday.

Their release came after months of negotiations between the British and Iranian governments.

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe spent six years in detention in Iran, while Mr Ashoori was held for five.

Both left Iranian capital Tehran for the UK via Oman, shortly after being freed on Wednesday.

It marked the end of an ordeal that, for Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a project manager for the Thomson Reuters foundation, began in 2016 when she was accused of plotting to overthrow the Iranian government.

In April last year, she was sentenced to a further year in prison and a one-year travel ban on charges of propaganda against the government.

Mr Ashoori, a retired civil engineer, was detained in 2017 on spying charges and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

The pair have always denied the claims against them.

Their freedom comes after the UK government settled a historic debt to Iran of almost £400m, although both countries have said the payment should not be linked to the pair’s release.

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