TEHRAN - Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Sunday that the case of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian woman, is not linked to Britain’s debt to Iran.

“Whatever has been said about Ms. Zaghari’s accusations and their link with some issues in relations between Iran and England are unfounded speculations,” he told Fars news agency.   

Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 38, has been imprisoned in Iran for 2 years on charges of trying to orchestrate a soft overthrow of the Islamic Republic.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s husband Richard Ratcliffe told Radio Farda in an interview that his wife has been held in prison to press the British government to pay its debt to Iran and pave the way for her release.

British officials have also denied the claim.

The British debt to Iran dates back to a 400 million pounds ($530 million) payment the late Iranian Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi made for Chieftain Tanks that were never delivered.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson visited Iran in December 2017 and was expected to pursue the case of Zaghari and consular cases of other dual nationals.

Iran, however, says it does not recognize dual nationals and considers dual citizens as Iranian citizens only.

NA/PA