A British couple who had been on a bike tour all over the world had been detained in Iran, Britain’s international workplace stated on Saturday.
The couple, Craig and Lindsay Foreman, had been final heard from on social media in early January. However this week, Iranian state media reported that two British nationals had been detained on suspicion of “safety crimes.”
Britain’s international workplace confirmed their detention after the Iranian experiences, and on Saturday issued a press release on behalf of the couple’s household.
“This sudden flip of occasions has triggered important concern for our complete household, and we’re deeply targeted on guaranteeing their security and well-being throughout this attempting time,” the household stated.
Mr. and Ms. Foreman, each of their mid-50s, had been on a bike tour to Australia, the place Ms. Foreman, was set to ship a paper at a convention on psychology. They reside in Spain, the place Ms. Foreman labored as a psychologist and life coach and Mr. Foreman as a carpenter.
The couple’s detention first got here to gentle when Iranian state media published a photograph of Britain’s ambassador to Iran, Hugo Shorter, assembly with two British residents accused of “safety crimes.”
Iranian state media blurred the couple’s faces within the picture, taken on the workplace of the prosecutor in Kerman, a metropolis greater than 600 miles east of the capital, Tehran.
In its assertion, the household stated it was “actively participating with the British authorities and related authorities, working diligently to navigate the complexities of this matter.”
It’s unclear how lengthy the couple has been held in Iran. Earlier than their detention, the Foremans shared their travels on social media. They final posted on Jan. 3, saying they had been in Iran.
“To place your minds at relaxation, we’re having probably the most wonderful time in Iran,” the couple stated in a Fb submit, including that they had been touring with a tour information. On Instagram, Ms. Foreman posted an image of herself assembly a theologian at a madrasa in Isfahan, the place she wrote that “journey continues to show me that humanity’s core is shared.”
The couple had crossed into Iran from Armenia, and had been planning to move to Pakistan subsequent, they’d stated.
“The UK authorities advises towards all however important journey to those areas, and the information paints a reasonably grim image,” they posted on Facebook on Dec. 30. “We need to discover out for ourselves. That’s the reason we’re right here.”
The submit included two photographs side-by-side: one of many Overseas Workplace’s orange and yellow map of Iran, advising British residents to not journey to Iran, and one other of a photograph of the inexperienced lawns of a mosque, a picture whose location was pinned to Norduz, close to Iran’s border with Armenia.
The international workplace advises towards all journey to Iran, issuing a warning that “British and British-Iranian twin nationals are at important threat of arrest, questioning or detention.”
Iran has repeatedly jailed foreigners and twin nationals over the past decade, together with an Iranian-American citizen and an Italian journalist detained final 12 months and a Swedish E.U. official arrested in 2023.
A number of British-Iranian dual-citizens have been amongst these arrested, amongst them Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was held for six years; Aras Amiri, a 32-year-old artwork scholar; and Abbas Edalat, an academic and antiwar activist. Ms. Amiri, arrested whereas visiting her grandmother and accused of espionage, was released after three years in jail, and Mr. Edalat was launched after several months.
Human rights teams have stated many of those detentions are a part of a deliberate coverage to extract concessions from different nations, together with prisoner swaps.
