This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Boris Johnson will raise the plight of imprisoned British mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe with his Iranian counterpart on the margins of an international summit.

The foreign secretary will attend talks in Brussels focused on the Iran nuclear deal amid concerns about US president Donald Trump’s opposition to the agreement.



But he will also use the meeting to raise the issue of Zaghari-Ratcliffe and other dual-national consular cases with Tehran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif.



Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a mother-of-one, was arrested in 2016 during a holiday visit to show her baby daughter Gabriella to her parents.



The 39-year-old from Hampstead, north London, is currently serving a five-year sentence over allegations, which she denies, of plotting to overthrow the Tehran government.



The main focus of the talks, which will also be attended by French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, German counterpart Sigmar Gabriel, and EU high representative for foreign affairs Federica Mogherini, will be the nuclear deal.



The US has said it would consider scrapping the 2015 deal, in which Iran restricted its nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief, but the EU parties remain committed to the agreement.



Mr Johnson said: “The UK has always been clear: the Iran nuclear deal is a crucial agreement that makes the world safer.



Play Video 0:28 Boris Johnson arrives in Tehran to ask for release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe – video

“It is vital that we continue to work with our European partners to preserve the Iran deal, and with it the security and prosperity it is bringing to the people of Iran and the world.



“Of course there are areas where we disagree with Iran, not least on its destabilising regional activity and its ballistic missile programme. This will be an important part of our conversation.

“I will be making it clear to foreign minister Zarif, on the subject of the recent protests in Iran, that the right to peaceful demonstration within the law is central to any truly thriving society.



“I will also raise all of our Iranian dual-national consular cases.”