The former foreign secretary told the BBC the British-Iranian pair's return to the UK last week was an 'extraordinary achievement' but it should have happened faster.
Mr Hunt, who was foreign secretary between July 2018 and July 2019, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he did "everything I could" in his role to secure their release but "it took too long".
Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe faced criticism from some commentators on social media, who suggested she should be more grateful to the British government for securing her release. Both the UK and Iranian governments have said the two issues should not be linked but Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe said she had been told by her captors that her imprisonment was connected to the unpaid debt.
He added that because Iran is under economic sanctions the practicalities of paying the debt "still took a long time to sort out".Morad Tahbaz and fellow conservationists were using cameras to track endangered species when they were arrested He and seven other conservationists were accused of collecting classified information about Iran's strategic areas under the pretext of carrying out environmental and scientific projects. All eight deny the charges.
His daughter Roxanne told BBC Breakfast her father, who has cancer, had been on hunger strike for three days.
Österreich Neuesten Nachrichten, Österreich Schlagzeilen
Similar News:Sie können auch ähnliche Nachrichten wie diese lesen, die wir aus anderen Nachrichtenquellen gesammelt haben.
Freedom ‘never complete’ if others remain detained in Iran, says Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe – videoZaghari-Ratcliffe speaks in public for first time after her release from detention in the Middle East
Weiterlesen »
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe beams after being reunited with familyNazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe (right) is pictured beaming alongside Tulip Siddiq, the local MP who helped get her home, as Nazanin spends the first days settling back into the UK with her family.
Weiterlesen »
'I'm not going to trust you': Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe speaks out on Iran releaseNazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has spoken out in her first press conference since being released from Iran after six years. 'What's happened now should have happened six years ago. I shouldn't have been in prison for six years,' she said of the ordeal. 'But I was told many many times – 'we're going to ge...
Weiterlesen »