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Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe lands in the UK; reunites with family

BRIZE NORTON, ENGLAND - MARCH 17: (EDITORS NOTE: Retransmission with alternate crop.) Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe (R) and Anoosheh Ashoori, who were freed from Iran, disembark after landing at RAF Brize Norton on March 17, 2022 in Brize Norton, England. Today the British government repaid the Iranian Government almost £400 million owed from a 1979 deal for Chieftain tanks that were never delivered. On their release, Mrs. Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Mr. Ashoori flew first from Tehran to Muscat, Oman then on to RAF Brize Norton on a UK government-chartered Titan Airways Boeing. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe (R) and Anoosheh Ashoori, who were freed from Iran, disembark after landing at RAF Brize Norton on March 17, 2022 in Brize Norton, England [Leon Neal/Getty Images]

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori, both British-Iranian nationals, landed in the UK in the early hours of Thursday and were reunited with their families after years of imprisonment in Iran, Anadolu News Agency reports.

The duo was respectively accused of plotting to overthrow the government and spying, charges they both denied.

They landed at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire after a seven-hour flight from Oman, shortly after 0100GMT.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 43, waved at cameras as she walked into the airport, where she was then pictured embracing her seven-year-old daughter, Gabriella, and her husband, Richard.

As she disembarked, her daughter could be heard asking “Is that mummy?” and later shouted “mummy” as her mother made her way down the plane’s stairs.

READ: British-Iranian aid worker to return to UK today

Ashoori, 66, gave cameras a peace sign, as he made his way to the airport alongside Zaghari-Ratcliffe. His family members were in tears as they reunited with him.

The two families also chatted with each other and took a group photo.

British Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss, who was at the airport, said on Twitter: “Delighted that Nazanin and Anoosheh have landed safely in the UK and are reunited with their families and loved ones. Welcome home.”

She also hailed Oman’s “instrumental” role in securing the pair’s release.

Truss also stressed that their release was separate to the British government’s payment of an outstanding £400 million ($524 million) “legitimate debt” to Iran.

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