Nazanin Zaghari-Ratclife 'deflated' after Iran decision on freedom delayed again

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British woman who has been detained in Iran for four years, has been made to wait again after a decision on whether to let her return to the UK was delayed by Iranian authorities.

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 41, contacted the prosecutor's office on Saturday in the hopes of being given her freedom but she was told to get back in touch next week, her husband said.

The decision on the mother-of-one's future had already been delayed once, having been initially planned for Wednesday.

Richard Ratcliffe told Sky News: “Nazanin telephoned the prosecutor’s office and no news, got told to call back again next week.

“Clearly there’s no decision so we’ll be back in touch again next week with the prosecutor’s office to see if there’s any news.”

Mr Ratcliffe added: “She’s obviously a bit deflated, it was a fairly flat call I had with her this morning.

“It’s been a few of these moments where we were hoping it would happen.”

But he said the family “remain hopeful and waiting” and explained: “To take a step back, what she’s been told is that she is put off prison on furlough, until such time when a decision on clemency is made.”

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been detained in Iran since April 2016, accused of plotting to overthrow the country's government, which she strongly denies.

She was arrested at the airport while taking her young daughter to visit her parents and sentenced to five years in prison.

The British Government later gave Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe diplomatic protection. The UK argues she is innocent and that her imprisonment does not meet standards set out under international law.