Iran, UK Foreign Ministers Hold Rare Phone Call on Nuclear Issue and Detentions

TEHRAN: Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held a rare phone conversation with his British counterpart Yvette Cooper, the Iranian foreign ministry said on Saturday, marking an uncommon direct exchange between the two countries.

According to the ministry, during the call on Friday, both ministers emphasized the importance of continued consultations at various levels to enhance mutual understanding and address issues of shared interest.

A UK government source said Cooper stressed the need for a diplomatic solution to Iran’s nuclear programme and raised several other concerns, including the case of British nationals Lindsay and Craig Foreman, who have been detained in Iran for nearly a year on espionage charges.

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The Iranian foreign ministry statement did not mention the detained British couple. However, it said Araghchi criticized what he described as the “irresponsible approach” of three European countries—Britain, France and Germany—toward Iran’s nuclear issue.

At the end of September, the three European nations initiated the process to reinstate United Nations sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme.

Lindsay and Craig Foreman, both in their early fifties, were detained in January in Kerman, central Iran, while traveling through the country on a round-the-world motorcycle trip. Iranian authorities accuse them of posing as tourists to gather intelligence, an allegation denied by the couple’s family.

Prior to Friday’s call, the last direct exchange between the two foreign ministers took place in October.