Two British-Australian women detained in Iran as tensions rise

Two British-Australian women and another foreign national, also believed to be Australian, have been detained in Iran.

British media reported on Tuesday night that a blogger who was travelling through Asia with her Australian boyfriend, and an academic who studied at Cambridge University who has been working at a university in Australia, were seized in separate incidents.

The two women are believed to be currently held at the Evin prison in Tehran, where Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe a 41-year-old British-Iranian national has been incarcerated on spying charges since 2016.

BBC Persia has also reported a woman and her Australian partner were detained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard for camping in a military area around Jajrood in Tehran province.

Bold move towards compromise only way forward for Johnson

---

DUP says Johnson confirmed rejection of Northern Ireland-only backstop

---

Ukraine eyes prisoner swap with Russia as Trump praises efforts

---

Jeremy Corbyn: An election is coming, but not on Johnson’s terms

---

The arrests come amid increasing tensions between Australia, Britain, the United States and Iran. In August, the Australia prime minister, Scott Morrison, said Australia would join a US-led mission in the Strait of Hormuz.

Mr Morrison said Australia would send forces to the Middle East because “destabilising behaviour” in the Gulf was a threat to Australian interests.

The British MP Tulip Siddiq said: “Iran have raised the stakes again and shown the UK’s soft diplomatic responses to Iran’s illegal and inhumane treatment of British prisoners has not worked. This is a wake up call for the prime minister and the government to act urgently to bring our innocent citizens home.”

– Guardian