Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe: Another British bargaining chip?

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a dual British-Iranian national, has captured the imagination of British political and media elites like no one before, to the extent that back in March the British government went to the extraordinary length of granting her diplomatic protection status.  

In tandem with the UK government, the British media has consistently championed Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s cause by casting her in the role of an “innocent mother”. As if motherhood is a license to commit crimes.

Whilst the Zaghari-Ratcliffe case was initially a consular matter between Britain and Iran, the issue escalated dramatically following Britain’s decision in March to grant her diplomatic protection status. This was the first time in more than 100 years that Britain has resorted to such a drastic action.

Inside Britain this move touched off a debate as to why the government would go to such lengths at the risk of further undermining Anglo-Iranian ties. Could this have anything to do with the nature of Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s anti-Iranian activities at the behest of the British intelligence services?

One of the prominent features of this case is that the British media has consistently failed to examine the merits of the accusations levelled against Zaghari-Ratcliffe. Instead she is reflexively introduced as an “innocent mother” held “hostage” by Iran to settle disputes with Britain, notably a pre-revolutionary debt related to arms sales.

This reductive description of events falls foul of even the most basic scrutiny test. Tens of thousands of Iranian dual nationals enter and exit the country on a daily basis without experiencing any problems. If the Iranian authorities want to hold “hostages” by way of resolving disputes with unfriendly states, why focus on this one individual?

It goes without saying that Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been convicted on very serious national security related charges. Even the few confirmed details related to her case are damning enough and paint a picture far removed from that of an “innocent” mother.

Apart from strong connections to British national security linked organisations, including the BBC World Service (via a supposedly charitable arm), Zaghari-Ratcliffe also had ties to US Aid. The latter organisation is known to maintain strong links to American intelligence organisations, notably the CIA.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe was directly implicated in designing illegal websites and administering training to local “journalists” who were expected to supply content for these websites. Additionally, Zaghari-Ratcliffe made extensive use of encryption in her e-mail communications which points to her having plenty to hide.

At this juncture more and more ordinary Britons are beginning to ask why the British government should risk using the mother of a small child to conduct illegal security-related activities in Iran. If motherhood is the litmus test for “innocence” then the British government has breached that principle by leaps and bounds.  

Beyond the role of the British government, the activities of Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s husband, Richard Ratcliffe, are equally questionable. For more than two years Ratcliffe has conducted an intense media campaign ostensibly to apply pressure on both the British and Iranian governments to secure his wife’s freedom.

Whilst Ratcliffe clearly enjoys the media spotlight – and benefits from it both financially and reputationally – it is difficult to point to any tangible benefits for his wife arising from these media-related activities.

Moreover, Ratcliffe has been less than honest as regards his activities and motives. He has consistently complained of not being able to see his daughter Gabriella but to date he has failed to even apply for an Iranian visa.  

Furthermore, Ratcliffe has formed a strong bond with UK foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt and according to well-informed sources he met Hunt before commencing his hunger strike.

Ratcliffe’s latest stunt of staging a hunger strike outside the Iranian embassy in London – in an apparent show of solidarity with his incarcerated wife – is yet another PR operation which profits him personally at the expense of his incarcerated wife.

At the very least these stunts create the impression that the Radcliffe duo’s provocative moves are being at least in part directed by official circles in London with a view to applying pressure on Tehran.

It remains to be seen what the British government hopes to gain from these stunts but the release of a supposedly “innocent” mother is the last thing on the minds of Jeremy Hunt and his acolytes.        

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