Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British-Iranian dual national held captive in Tehran, has made a tearful appeal to be released, breaking down as she entered an appeal hearing and pleading with the authorities to release her after three-and-a-half years in jail for espionage charges she denies.

Her husband, Richard, said Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s legs “went completely numb as she was taken into the room – she fell just outside the door, and had to be sat down on the steps to recover. She also had to be helped into the room by prison guards due to her stress.”

At a hearing before the Iranian health commission, she complained she had been deprived of her medication, was sometimes kept in solitary confinement and was suffering from severe anxiety.

The commissioners countered that Zaghari-Ratcliffe had on occasion been deemed to be at risk of self harm so could not be given medication.

The account of her hearing came from British sources, and cannot be independently verified. It also came as two Australians were released from jail in Tehran in a prisoner swap, and the Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, claimed two detained Iranians were being released by the US.

She disputed the commissioners’ explanation for the deprivation of medicines, saying some of the prescribed medicines had never been provided and if she wanted to self-harm she could have used other means.

In a letter smuggled out of her prison cell last week, Zaghari-Ratcliffe also wrote of her desperation at being separated from her five-year-old daughter, Gabriella, who is due to return to London thisautumn to start school and be cared for by her husband. Gabriella has been living in Tehran with her grandmother and been afforded weekly visits to her mother.

At the hearing, the commissioners claimed Zaghari-Ratcliffe had discharged herself from hospital when sent to the psychiatric ward in July. She replied she had been kept in chains and in isolation. After returning to her cell she was reportedly in tears for an hour.

She has been given no indication of when the Iranian judiciary will decide on her appeal.

The Tehran hearing came as Iran failed to win the UK high court’s permission to appeal against a judgment debarring it from claiming up to £20m interest from the UK government over an unpaid £400m debt.

Court ruling over tanks debt deals new blow to UK-Iran relations Read more

The debt, or court award, originated from the non-delivery of contracts to the Iranian ministry of defence (Modsaf) of Chieftain tanks dating back to before 1979. The UK refused to complete the contract after the Shah was deposed, even though Iran had paid the money.

Phillips ruled Iran had no serious chance of succeeding at appeal on the question of a right to interest on the debt since the body to which the award is payable has been a EU-sanctioned entity since 2008.

The ruling is a reverse for Iran in its marathon court battle to enforce an international court order dating back to 2012 awarding Iran £400m over the UK’s government’s non-completion of the contract to provide Iran with Chieftain tanks.

Play Video 6:21 Richard Ratcliffe's determined fight to free wife Nazanin from an Iranian jail – video

The UK has put nearly £500m into court as a surety for the award, but insists it cannot make the payment, let alone pay any interest accrued since 2008, on the grounds that Modsaf is a sanctioned entity.

The case affects UK bilateral relations, and despite denials by both the British and Iranian governments is seen as a possible barrier to the release of Zaghari-Ratcliffe. Her plight was not mentioned in Sunday’s hearing seeking permission to appeal.

Iran has two major routes left to unlock the cash put into court by the UK. The first is a request to the Treasury’s office of sanctions implementation (OFSI) to accept voluntarily that the £400m can be paid to the Central Bank of Iran and not to Modsaf. The Central Bank is not an EU-sanctioned entity.

Timeline Imprisonment of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe in Iran Show Hide Arrest in Tehran Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is arrested at Imam Khomeini airport as she is trying to return to Britain after a holiday visiting family with her daughter, Gabriella. Release campaign begins Her husband, Richard Radcliffe, delivers a letter to David Cameron in 10 Downing Street, demanding the government do more for her release. Sentenced She is sentenced to five years in jail. Her husband says the exact charges are still being kept a secret. Hunger strike Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's health deteriorates after she spends several days on hunger strike in protest at her imprisonment. Appeal fails Iran’s supreme court upholds her conviction. Boris Johnson intervenes Boris Johnson, then Foreign Secretary, tells a parliamentary select committee "When we look at what [she] was doing, she was simply teaching people journalism". Four days after his comments, Zaghari-Ratcliffe is returned to court, where his statement is cited in evidence against her. Her employers, the Thomson Reuters Foundation, deny that she has ever trained journalists, and her family maintain she was in Iran on holiday. Johnson is eventually forced to apologise for the "distress and anguish" his comments cause the family. Health concerns Her husband reveals that Zaghari-Ratcliffe has fears for her health after lumps had been found in her breasts that required an ultrasound scan, and that she was now “on the verge of a nervous breakdown”. Hunt meets husband New Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt meets with Richard Ratcliffe, and pledges "We will do everything we can to bring her home." Temporary release She is granted a temporary three-day release from prison. Hunger strike Zaghari-Ratcliffe is on hunger strike again, in protest at the withdrawal of her medical care. Diplomatic protection The foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, takes the unusual step of granting her diplomatic protection – a move that raises her case from a consular matter to the level of a dispute between the two states. Travel warning The UK upgrades its travel advice to British-Iranian dual nationals, for the first time advising against all travel to Iran. The advice also urges Iranian nationals living in the UK to exercise caution if they decide to travel to Iran. Hunger strike in London Richard Ratcliffe joins his wife in a new hunger strike campaign. He fasts outside the Iranian embassy in London as she begins a third hunger strike protest in prison. Hunger strike ends Zaghari-Ratcliffe ends her hunger strike by eating some breakfast. Her husband also ends his strike outside the embassy.

Moved to mental health ward According to her husband, Zaghari-Ratcliffe was moved from Evin prison to the mental ward of Imam Khomeini hospital, where Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have prevented relatives from contacting her. Daughter returns to London Zaghari-Ratcliffe's five year old daughter Gabriella, who has lived with her grandparents in Tehran and regularly visited her mother in jail over the last three years, returns to London in order to start school. Temporary release Amid the threat of the coronavirus pandemic, she is temporarily released from prison, but will be required to wear an ankle brace and not move more than 300 metres from her parents’ home. New charges Iranian state media reports that she will appear in court to face new and unspecified charges. In the end, a weekend court appearance on a new charge of waging propaganda against the state that could leave her incarcerated for another 10 years is postponed without warning, leading Zaghari-Ratcliffe to say "People should not underestimate the level of stress. People tell me to calm down. You don’t understand what it is like. Nothing is calm."

Iran lodged its appeal in writing two years ago, but no ruling has emerged from the OFSI.

In addition, Iran is due to seek a UK court judgment in a case set for March directing the UK to pay the £400m award into the coffers of the Central Bank. Lawyers for the UK government in court made clear to Justice Phillips that they will resist any requirement to pay the money to the Central Bank either in cash or kind since the ultimate beneficiary will in effect be Modsaf.

In theory, the UK would be free after Brexit to change the list of bodies it sanctions, rather than simply duplicate EU decisions, but there is no sign that ministers will make any change to the Iranian sanctions regime.

Speaking before a Commons urgent question, Tulip Siddiq the constituency MP for Zaghari-Ratcliffe said:“The UK government’s policy of compassionate impotence will not secure the release of my constituent”. She claimed the release at the weekend of the Australian blogger Jolie King underlined “the power of effective diplomacy” by other countries.

