<ul class="summary-list"><li>A British-Iranian woman detained by Iran since 2016 was released on Wednesday, her lawyer said.</li><li>Iran accused Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe of being a spy. Her family and the UK deny this.</li></ul><p>Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian woman who had been detained by Iran since 2016, was released Wednesday.</p><p>As of Wednesday morning UK time, Zaghari-Ratcliffe was in the air departing Tehran, due to return to the United Kingdom late in the evening via Oman.</p><p>Anoosheh Ashoori, another British-Iranian dual national held by Iran, was also released and on his way out of the country. He was sentenced to ten years in jail in 2019 and accused of spying for Israel's Mossad intelligence agency and "acquiring illegitimate wealth," <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/detain-uk-iran-free-nazanin-zaghari-ratcliffe-anoosheh-ashoori/">claims that he denies</a>.</p><p>UK Prime Minister <a href="https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson/status/1504084083588149251">Boris Johnson</a> and Foreign Secretary <a href="https://twitter.com/trussliz/status/1504083934300229633">Liz Truss</a> confirmed Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Ashoori's release Wednesday and said they were both returning to the UK. </p><p>Tulip Siddiq, the member of parliament for Zaghari-Ratcliffe's constituency, <a href="https://twitter.com/TulipSiddiq/status/1504037872206241795">tweeted</a>: "Nazanin is at the airport in Tehran and on her way home. I came into <keyword id="11893346" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="politics" source="Orion">politics</keyword> to make a difference, and right now I'm feeling like I have."</p><p>Siddiq also posted this photo, which she said shows Zaghari-Ratcliffe traveling home:</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Tulip Siddiq (@TulipSiddiq) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1504085551145787393">March 16, 2022</a></blockquote><p>Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a project manager at the Thomson Reuters Foundation — a charity that does not work directly with the news agency — was arrested in Iran in 2016 and accused of being a spy.</p><p>Zaghari-Ratcliffe was <a href="https://www.insider.com/nazanin-zaghari-ratcliffe-gets-diplomatic-protection-freedom-not-guaranteed-2019-3">taken</a> at a Tehran airport in April 2016 when she was returning home to London with her young daughter after visiting her parents.</p><p>An Iranian court convicted her of spying, training journalists, and plotting to overthrow Iran's clerical establishment. She, her family, and the British government have repeatedly denied the allegations. </p><p>She was held in the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/iran-evin-prison-australian-travel-bloggers-foreigners-held-conditions-2019-9">notorious Evin Prison</a> in Tehran, the Iranian capital. She was denied permission to seek medical attention even after she <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nazanin-zaghari-ratcliffe-gets-diplomatic-protection-freedom-not-guaranteed-2019-3?r=US&amp;IR=T">described</a> finding lumps in her breast and being in a fragile mental state. Ashoori was also held in Evin Prison, his family said.</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/foreign-secretary-statement-on-iran-16-march-2022">Truss said the release of the British nationals</a> came "in parallel" with the settlement of a £393.8 million ($516 million) debt owed by the UK to Iran, which had been outstanding for more than 40 years since the Iranian Revolution.</p><p>The debt was created when the British government cancelled the delivery of military vehicles due to be delivered to the overthrown government led by the Shah of Iran. The terms of the agreement are confidential but the funds will be ringfenced for the purchase of humanitarian goods, Truss said.</p><p>Zaghari-Ratcliffe's husband, Richard Ratcliffe, and the British government had been appealing for her release for almost six years.</p><p>Video shows BBC News presenter Joanna Gosling choking up as she announced news of the release.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Calgie (@christiancalgie) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1504038186468716544">March 16, 2022</a></blockquote><p>In her Wednesday tweet, Truss also said Morad Tahbaz, a British-American <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41974185">wildlife conservationist</a> whom Iran arrested in 2018 and accused of espionage, was temporarily released from prison in Iran. There has been no evidence to back Iran's claim about Tahbaz.</p>

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, British woman held captive by Iran since 2016, is released

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="5570788" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="nazanin-zaghari-ratcliffe">Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe</keyword> has been freed and had her ankle tag removed, according to her lawyer.</li><li>The British-Iranian woman was controversially arrested in 2016 on charges of espionage.</li><li>It is unclear when she will return to London to reunite with her husband and daughter.</li></ul><p>Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-<keyword id="41896" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Iran">Iran</keyword>ian dual-citizen who has been detained in Iran since 2016, has been freed, according to her lawyer.</p><p>She has been released from house arrest and had her ankle tag removed after completing a five-year sentence, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/BigStory12/idUSKBN2AZ0BA">Reuters</a> reported.</p><p>"She was pardoned by Iran's supreme leader last year but spent the last year of her term under house arrest with electronic shackles tied to her feet. Now they're cast off," her attorney, Hojjat Kerjmani, told an Iranian website. "She has been freed."</p><p>However, the former charity worker has been summoned to court to face another set of charges on March 14, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2021/mar/07/nazanin-zaghari-ratcliffe-reportedly-freed-but-may-face-new-charges">The Guardian</a> said.</p><p>It is unclear when she will return to her family in London, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/07/world/europe/uk-nazanin-zaghari-ratcliffe.html">The New York Times</a> reported.</p><p>Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested in September 2016 when traveling to Iran to visit her parents. She was sentenced to five years in jail on espionage charges that both she and the British government deny.</p><p>During her time in jail, Zaghari-Ratcliffe 's husband has said that she suffered <a href="https://www.insider.com/nazanin-zaghari-ratcliffe-gets-diplomatic-protection-freedom-not-guaranteed-2019-3">mentally and physically</a>. In 2019, she was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jailed-british-iranian-aid-worker-in-iran-starts-hunger-strike-husband-2019-6">refused permission</a> to see a doctor to have suspicious lumps on her breasts examined.</p><p>She also experienced panic attacks, her husband told <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/jailed-nazanin-zaghari-ratcliffe-regrets-temporary-freedom-193019">i News. </a></p><p>Zaghari-Ratcliffe's release follows a five-year campaign for her safe return by her husband, Richard Ratcliffe. A <a href="https://www.change.org/p/free-nazanin-ratcliffe">petition</a> with over 3.5 million signatures called for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to take the necessary actions to free her.</p><p><keyword id="6691169" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Dominic-Raab">Dominic Raab</keyword>, the <keyword id="6354868" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="UK">UK</keyword>'s foreign secretary, has welcomed her release but has urged Iran to allow her to return to her husband and 6-year-old daughter.</p><p>"We welcome the removal of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's ankle tag, but Iran's continued treatment of her is intolerable," Raab wrote on <a href="https://twitter.com/DominicRaab/status/1368541535491489799">Twitter</a>. "She must be allowed to return to the UK as soon as possible to be reunited with her family."</p>

British charity worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is released from house arrest but her ordeal at the hands of the Iranian regime is far from over

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="5570788" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="nazanin-zaghari-ratcliffe">Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe</keyword>'s lawyers say the UK is delaying efforts to secure her release in order to avoid angering <keyword id="6354862" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="trump">Trump</keyword>.</li><li>Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-<keyword id="41896" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Iran">Iran</keyword>ian woman, has been trapped in Iran since her arrest there in 2016.</li><li>She was visting family when she was arrested for allegedly "plotting to topple the Iranian government."</li><li>The UK government has been trying to secure her release ever since.</li><li>However, her lawyers have accused Boris Johnson's government of not taking all necessary steps to bring her back to the UK.</li><li>They say the UK is refusing to pay Iran a £400 million debt for fear of undermining Trump's hardline approach to Tehran.</li></ul><p>Lawyers representing Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe — the British-Iranian woman trapped in Iran — have accused Boris Johnson's UK government of delaying a potential deal to secure her release in order to avoid upsetting the Trump administration.</p><p>Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been held in Iran since April 2016 when she was arrested in Tehran accused of spying and "plotting to topple the Iranian government." Zaghari-Ratcliffe totally denies the allegations and says she travelled to Iran to visit family. She was temporarily released in March at the height of Iran's coronavirus pandemic, but has been under effective house arrest ever since.</p><p>In a seven-page letter to UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, lawyers representing Zaghari-Ratcliffe have accused the UK government of failing to take all necessary steps to secure her release from Iran for fear of undermining President Trump's hardline approach to Iran, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2020/aug/24/uks-pandering-to-us-is-delaying-zaghari-ratcliffe-release-lawyers-claim" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Guardian newspaper reports.</a></p><p>The lawyers say the UK government has hindered Zaghari-Ratcliffe's release by avoiding paying Iran £400 million debt incurred by a cancelled arms deal in the 1970s. The letter said the UK government "continues to raise every possible legal objection to payment of the debt and has plainly failed to engage in constructive dialogue with Tehran."</p><p>The decision to postpone the next high court case hearing on the debt to November 4, a day after the US presidential election, is effectively endangering British lives in order to appease the Trump administration, the lawyers said.</p><p>"The UK government is apparently waiting for implicit permission from the US government to pay the UK's legally owed debts, payment of which would allow Nazanin (and other innocent British nationals) finally to come home. The message appears to be that the safety of British citizens abroad is subordinate to falling in line with US policy," their letter said.</p><div type="image" title="Britain’s Secretary of State of Defence Ben Wallace leaves Downing Street 10 in London, Britain February 13, 2020. REUTERS/Toby Melville" height="2708" width="5416" msid="77743014" hostid="261"></div><p>The letter also accused the UK government of failing to pressure Iran into reducing human rights abuses.</p><p>"There has been a new wave of forced confessions and prisoners being tortured, a new programme of family members of activists and prisoners being arrested, more instances of second sentences being levelled against cellmates of Nazanin who would otherwise be eligible for release," it said.</p><p>A spokesperson for the UK Ministry of Defence told The Guardian: "The defence secretary's position on this matter has not changed. As previous government statements have made clear, we remain committed to securing the immediate and permanent release of all arbitrarily detained dual British nationals in Iran and regularly lobby for their release at the highest levels. This includes through the prime minister, the foreign secretary and the British ambassador in Tehran."</p><p>The accusation that Johnson's UK government is wary of upsetting the US over Iran comes amid an awkward disagreement between Britain and the Trump administration over whether to impose sanctions on Tehran.</p><p>US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-mike-pompeo-accuses-european-allies-iran-ayotollahs-2020-8?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T" target="_blank" rel="noopener">last week accused</a> the UK and other European allies of "siding with the ayatollahs" after they refused to back a US move at the United Nations to reimpose sanctions on Tehran.</p><p>The US wants to reimpose sanctions that were removed by UN nations in 2015, as it believes Tehran has violated terms of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, more commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal. However, the UK, Germany, and France said the US could not do this because President Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018.</p><p>Pompeo reacted furiously to the opposition, accusing European allies of "lacking courage and conviction" and saying "their actions endanger the people of Iraq, of Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, and indeed their own citizens as well."</p>

The UK is delaying a deal with Iran to release Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe because they're afraid of angering Trump, say her lawyers

<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5e708bb1c48540796600f512-2374/2020-02-26t183812z1lynxnpeg1p21grtroptp4iran-election.jpg" alt="Iranian President Hassan Rouhani casts his vote at a polling station during parliamentary elections in Tehran, Iran February 21, 2020. Official Presidential website/Handout via REUTERS " /><p class="source"><span>Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Iranian President Hassan Rouhani casts his vote at a polling station during parliamentary elections in Tehran</p><ul class="summary-list"><li>Iran has temporarily released 85,000 prisoners as the coronavirus crisis escalates in the region.</li><li>Its judiciary minister Gholamhossein Esmaili announced the decision on Monday.</li><li>Political prisoners are reportedly among those released. It is unclear whether Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British-Iranian dual citizen detained in Iran since 2016, is among them.</li><li>Over 14,000 people in Iran had infected the COVID-19 virus as of Monday, with over 850 deaths.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul><p>The Iranian government has temporarily released 85,000 prisoners in an emergency move to stop the spread of the coronavirus.</p><p>Gholamhossein Esmaili, Iran's judiciary minister, on Tuesday said: Some 50% of those released are security-related prisoners... also in the jails we have taken precautionary measures to confront the outbreak," <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-iran-frees-85000-prisoners-to-combat-spread-of-covid-19-11958783" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sky News reported.</a></p><p>Conditions inside Iran's jails have reportedly deteriorated within recent weeks, with inmates <a href="https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1255385/iran-news-Nazanin-Zaghari-Ratcliffe-prison-latest">reporting large numbers of deaths from the Coronavirus in the country's overcrowded prisons.</a></p><p>As of Monday, over 850 people had died in Iran after catching the COVID-19 virus, with more than 14,000 infected.</p><p>Those who have passed away include religious leaders. Ayatollah Hashem Bathayi Golpayegani, who sits on the clerical body responsible for choosing Iran's supreme leader, died two days after contracting the virus.</p><p>A number of political prisoners are reportedly included among those released by the Iranian regime this week.</p><p>It is not clear whether Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British-Iranian dual citizen detained in Iran since 2016, has also been released.</p><p>Business Insider has asked for UK Foreign Office to confirm Zaghari-Ratcliffe's status.</p> <p class="tagline">Our Brexit Insider Facebook group is the best place for up-to-date news and analysis about Britain's departure from the EU, direct from Business Insider's political reporters. Join <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/267178180471848/">here.</a></p>            <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/disney-parks-disneyland-world-expensive-exclusive-resort-walt-cinderella-2019-4">9 of the most exclusive Disney spots to visit, including the invite-only Cinderella Suite where Tom Cruise and Mariah Carey have stayed</a></h3>                    <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/hsO5Wlkr-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;"></iframe>            

Iran has released 85,000 prisoners in an emergency bid to stop the spread of the coronavirus

<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5e0f587d855cc265f717ea22-1024/gettyimages-1170743352.jpg" alt="Trump" /><p class="source"><span>Getty</span></p><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>European allies warn against any further escalation with Iran after Trump orders the assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani.</strong></li><li><strong>The UK warns that further conflict is "in none of our interests."</strong></li><li><strong>Germany also warns against any further "dangerous escalation."</strong></li><li><strong>The US government's decision to go ahead with the attack without informing its European partners angers some allies.</strong></li><li><strong>'The purpose of having allies is that we can surprise our enemies and not each other,' UK Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Tugendhat told the BBC.</strong></li><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</strong></li></ul><p>A series of US allies on Friday warned against any further escalation of the conflict with Iran, following President Donald Trump's decision to authorise the assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani.</p><p>The attack, which was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/uk-warns-donald-trump-against-launching-war-iran-qassem-soleimani-2020-1?r=US&amp;IR=T">reportedly launched</a> without consulting US allies, led to warnings from several leading European nations against any further escalation, with only Israel speaking out strongly in favour of Trump's decision.</p><p>The global reaction to the attack has revealed the US as increasingly isolated on the world stage.</p><h2>The UK warns that Iran war is in 'none of our interests'</h2><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5d372af5100a244017164da6-902/boris trump 2.jpg" alt="boris trump 2" /><p class="source"><span>Getty</span></p><p class="caption">Boris Johnson and Donald Trump</p>Among the first to react was the United Kingdom, historically the closest ally of the United States.<p>UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/uk-warns-donald-trump-against-launching-war-iran-qassem-soleimani-2020-1?r=US&amp;IR=T">released a statement</a> on Friday warning that conflict with Iran was "in none of our interests" and urged "all parties to de-escalate."</p><p>The attack, which was reportedly launched without informing the US traditional allies in advance, risks damaging relations between the two countries.</p><p>Raab's Conservative Party colleague and chair of the UK parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, Tom Tugendhat, told the BBC that "the purpose of having allies is that we can surprise our enemies and not each other,"</p><p>He added that "it's been a pattern, sadly, which has been a bit of a shame, that the US administration of late has not shared with us and that is a matter of concern."</p><p>"I would urge the US administration to share much more closely with allies, particularly those who are fighting alongside in the region, including us."</p><p>One complicating factor for the UK is the continuing imprisonment in Iran of the UK citizen Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe for alleged espionage.</p><p>Prime Minister Boris Johnson's own actions have <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/iranian-state-television-boris-johnson-nazanin-zaghari-ratcliffe-2017-11?r=US&amp;IR=T">previously been blamed for her ongoing detention</a> and he has personally promised to intervene in the case and bring it to a close.</p><p>Zaghari-Ratcliffe's husband Richard told ITV's Good Morning Britain on Friday that he feared Trump's actions could worsen her chances of being freed.</p><p>"I sit here partly worried for what that means for Nazanin, partly worried what that means for my in-laws, sat in their ordinary living room in Tehran where they're all really worried," he said.</p><h2>France warns of the danger of unilateral action </h2><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5de6b180fd9db2114c520586-2000/trump macron.jpg" alt="Trump Macron" /><p class="source"><span>Ludovic Marin/Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">France's President Emmanuel Macron gestures during the meeting with President Donald Trump, ahead of the NATO summit in Watford, in London, Britain, December 3, 2019.</p><p>France was instrumental, alongside the UK and other European countries, in attempts to forge and maintain a new relationship with Iran through the Iranian nuclear deal.</p><p>Trump's decision to withdraw from that deal has previously been criticised strongly by the country and the French government on Friday also called on the Trump administration to step back from any further conflict.</p><p>French European minister Amélie de Montchalin told French radio that any unilateral action by the US was dangerous.</p><p>"What is happening is what we feared: tensions between the United States and Iran are increasing," Montchalin told RTL radio, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-security-blast-montchalin/france-to-work-for-middle-east-stability-after-us-strike-minister-idUSKBN1Z20LP">according to Reuters.</a></p><p>She <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2020/jan/03/iran-general-qassem-suleimani-killed-us-trump-drone-strike-baghdad-reaction-live-updates?page=with:block-5e0f2fc28f08c3972264415e#block-5e0f2fc28f08c3972264415e">added</a>: "At European level, we have to work in collective multilateral frameworks and prevent the powers, one against the other, from playing their game in an unpredictable manner."</p><h2>Germany warns of 'dangerous escalation'</h2><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5e0f554a855cc253cd5f9a58-2400/ap17189304711715.jpg" alt="trump merkel" /><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Trump-Germany-G20/8f74b62ffcf34dcea5590a2b3e85587b/40/0">AP Photo/Evan Vucci</a></span></p><p class="caption">President Donald Trump, left, talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel during the Women's Entrepreneurship Finance event at the G20 Summit, Saturday, July 8, 2017, in Hamburg.</p><p>The German government laid the blame for the current crisis firmly at Tehran's door on Friday.</p><p>"The American action was a reaction to a series of military provocations for which Iran is responsible," German government spokesperson Ulrike Demmer said.</p><p>However, she warned against any further conflict, telling reporters: "We stand before a dangerous escalation."</p><h2>Israel stands alone in praising Trump</h2><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c99033816c958479c149195-2400/trump netanyahu.jpg" alt="Trump Netanyahu" /><p class="source"><span>Carlos Barria/Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">President Donald Trump smiles at Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they deliver statements at the White House in Washington, U.S., March 25, 2019.</p>Among the leading US allies, Israel was alone in offering full backing for Trump's actions.<p>The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has defended the US airstrike that killed Qassem Suleimani.</p><p>In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "Just as Israel has the right of self-defence, the United States has exactly the same right.</p><p>"Qassem Suleimani is responsible for the death of American citizens and many other innocent people. He was planning more such attacks.<br /><br />He added: "President Trump deserves all the credit for acting swiftly, forcefully and decisively Israel stands with the United States in its just struggle for peace, security and self-defence."</p>            <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-yule-log-became-christmas-tv-tradition-bizarre-wpix-fire-wood-burning-history-2017-12">The bizarre history of the Yule Log Christmas special</a></h3>                    <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/iTOv0mcR-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;"></iframe>            

The United States' main allies are abandoning Trump over his 'dangerous escalation' with Iran

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5d3ed674100a243c77578b24-1366/iran uk rouhani stanley johnson.jpg" border="0" alt="iran uk rouhani stanley johnson" data-mce-source="Iranian Presidency Office via AP; Press TV" data-mce-caption="A composite image of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's father, Stanley, giving an interview to Iran's state-run Press TV." /><p class="source"><span>Iranian Presidency Office via AP; Press TV</span></p><p class="caption">A composite image of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's father, Stanley, giving an interview to Iran's state-run Press TV.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>Tensions between the UK and Iran remain high as Britain still has an Iranian oil tanker accused of violating EU sanctions, and Iran still has a British oil tanker that it seized in retaliation.</strong></li><li><strong>Iran's president last week suggested swapping the two vessels to end the deadlock.</strong></li><li><strong>UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's father, Stanley, also advocated this plan.</strong></li><li><strong>But Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on Monday rejected this idea, saying that Iran should uphold international law instead.</strong></li><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.</a></strong></li></ul><p>The UK has ruled out a plan to swap oil tankers with <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/iran">Iran</a> to end the two countries' diplomatic deadlock, despite Prime Minister Boris Johnson's father advocating that exact plan on Iranian state TV last week.</p><p>Military tensions between London and Tehran remain high after the Royal Navy seized Iran's Grace 1 oil tanker off the British territory of Gibraltar on July 4, claiming that the vessel had been transporting oil to Syria in breach of EU sanctions.</p><p>Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) seized a British tanker, the Stena Impero, in the Strait of Hormuz two weeks later in retaliation. The tanker and its 23 crew members remain at Bandar Abbas port in southern Iran.</p><p><strong><em>Read more: </em></strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/iran-stena-impero-oil-tanker-crew-awkward-video-2019-7"><em>Iran releases awkward video purporting to show seized British tanker crew cooking on board 3 days after they were captured</em></a></p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5d3415cbb083fb2e9a5bd653-1200/2019-07-20t082601z2lynxnpef6j03urtroptp4mideast-iran-tanker-britain.jpg" border="0" alt="Undated handout photograph shows the Stena Impero, a British-flagged vessel owned by Stena Bulk, at an undisclosed location, obtained by Reuters on July 19, 2019. Stena Bulk/via REUTERS" data-mce-source="Reuters" data-mce-caption="The Stena Impero, a British-flagged vessel owned by Stena Bulk" /><p class="source"><span>Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">The British-flagged Stena Impero oil tanker, which was seized by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps earlier this month.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Iranian President Hassan Rouhani <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/24/world/middleeast/tanker-swap-iran-compromise.html">suggested</a> last week that his country might release the Stena Impero if the UK returned the Grace 1.</p><p>Dominic Raab, Britain's new foreign secretary, ruled out this idea on Monday morning, saying that the UK had seized the Iranian ship in compliance with international law, while the IRGC had captured the British tanker illegally.</p><p><em><strong>Read more:</strong> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/iran-footage-stena-impero-crew-2019-7">'If you obey, you will be safe.' Iran released dramatic video of its forces seizing a British tanker and the crew it interrogated</a></em></p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5d3ed620100a240a042481e7-1143/2019-05-26t102515z2006604089rc1db847e720rtrmadp3britain-eu-marr.jpg" border="0" alt="Dominic Raab MP, former Brexit Secretary appears on BBC TV's The Andrew Marr Show in London, Britain, May 26, 2019. Jeff Overs/BBC/Handout via" data-mce-source="Jeff Overs / BBC / Handout via Reuters" data-mce-caption="Dominic Raab MP, former Brexit Secretary appears on BBC TV's The Andrew Marr Show in London, Britain, May 26, 2019." /><p class="source"><span>Jeff Overs / BBC / Handout via Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Dominic Raab on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show in London in May 2019. He rejected an oil tanker swap with Iran on Monday.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>"There is no quid pro quo," Raab told the BBC's "Today" radio program on Monday morning. "Grace 1 was intercepted because it was in breach of sanctions and heading with oil to Syria."</p><p>"We were absolutely lawfully entitled to detain it in the way we did. The Stena Impero was unlawfully detained," he added.</p><p>"So this isn't about some kind of barter. This is about international law and the rules of the international legal system being upheld, and this is what we will insist on."</p><p>Last week Stanley Johnson, the father of newly installed prime minister Boris Johnson, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boris-johnson-dad-stanley-loves-iran-crisis-is-easy-peasy-2019-7">told Iranian TV that his son could solve the Iran standoff "easy peasy,"</a> saying that the best way to do so would be to swap tankers.</p><p>"Of course you have this situation at the moment where we've got your ship which is called Stella, you've got our ship, which is called something else," Stanley Johnson told Press TV hours after his son was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boris-johnson-becomes-uk-prime-minister-after-meeting-the-queen-2019-7">officially named prime minister</a>, while misnaming the Iranian vessel.</p><p>"Well, the best thing would be to say, look, we let your ship go, you let our ship go," he added. "Easy peasy."</p><p><em><strong>Read more:</strong> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boris-johnson-dad-stanley-loves-iran-crisis-is-easy-peasy-2019-7">Boris Johnson's dad tells Iranian TV that the UK's new prime minister 'loves' Iran and will resolve the tanker crisis 'easy peasy'</a></em></p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5d3ed5a88813a2417a13b6f2-1200/gettyimages-1158792628.jpg" border="0" alt="Boris Johnson Stanley Johnson" data-mce-source="Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images" /><p class="source"><span>Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Stanley and Boris Johnson before Boris Johnson became the UK's prime minister.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Tehran has accused the Stena Impero of violating international rules, though both the UK government and <a href="https://www.stenabulk.com/press-and-news">Stena Bulk</a>, the company operating the ship, have denied any wrongdoing on the ship's part.</p><p>Raab told the BBC: "We are going to continue to make the case to the Iranians, as they are trying to increase their acceptance amongst the international community, that they've got to respect international law."</p><p>"We are going to be expressing and engaging with Iranian authorities that we expect the vessel and the crew to be released," he added.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5d281ca1a17d6c470d4233e3-1600/2019-07-12t053651z1lynxnpef6b0byrtroptp4mideast-iran-tanker.jpg" border="0" alt="FILE PHOTO: Oil supertanker Grace 1 on suspicion of being carrying Iranian crude oil to Syria is seen near Gibraltar, Spain July 4, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo" data-mce-source="Reuters" data-mce-caption="FILE PHOTO: Oil supertanker Grace 1 on suspicion of being carrying Iranian crude oil to Syria is seen near Gibraltar" /><p class="source"><span>Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Iranian oil tanker, the Grace 1, seen near Gibraltar shortly before its seizure on July 4.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Rouhani on Sunday <a href="http://www.president.ir/en/110577">congratulated</a> Boris Johnson on becoming prime minister, and said he hoped that Johnson's "familiarity" with Iran-UK relations could help the standoff.</p><p>Johnson visited Iran once in 2017 as Britain's foreign secretary. During that visit, he wrongly said that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe - a British-Iranian dual citizen jailed for allegedly spying on the regime - had been "teaching people journalism" when she had in fact gone to visit family in the country.</p><p>Iran's judiciary ultimately used Johnson's comments to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/boris-johnsons-extraordinary-blunder-could-keep-a-british-woman-in-an-iranian-jail-2017-11">justify her prolonged imprisonment</a>, and Iranian state TV called them an "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/iranian-state-television-boris-johnson-nazanin-zaghari-ratcliffe-2017-11">unintended confession of the UK government about the real plot</a>." Zaghari-Ratcliffe remains in Iranian prison.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-coast-guards-intercept-drug-smuggling-submarine-2019-7">Heart-pounding video shows a badass Coast Guardsman running down a narco-sub loaded with cocaine and pounding on the hatch</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/H9zPWgLK-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

Britain rejects swapping seized oil tankers with Iran, 4 days after Prime Minister Boris Johnson's father said it would be 'easy peasy'

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a08163135876e1b008b578b-838/screen shot 2017-11-12 at 93136 am.png" alt="Sadiq Khan Andrew Marr Show" data-mce-source="Screengrab/BBC" data-mce-caption="London mayor Sadiq Khan appears on the &amp;quotAndrew Marr Show&quot; on November 11, 2017." /><p class="source"><span>Screengrab/BBC</span></p><p class="caption">London mayor Sadiq Khan appears on the "Andrew Marr Show" on November 11, 2017.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>London Mayor Sadiq Khan said British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson should resign in a BBC interview with <span>Andrew Marr on Sunday.</span></strong></li><li><strong><span>Johnson has made a series of gaffes that have offended Libyans, Americans, the Spanish, and others.</span></strong></li><li><strong>The foreign secretary should clarify a statement he made in parliament which was used as evidence against a British woman serving a five-year jail sentence in Iran.</strong></li><li><strong><strong>Khan believes Theresa May would have fired Johnson a long time ago if she was a strong prime minister.</strong></strong></li></ul><hr /><p><br />LONDON (Reuters) - London Mayor Sadiq Khan called on British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson to resign, speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr show on Sunday, after a series of gaffes which Khan said had offended Libyans, Americans, the Spanish, and others.</p><p>An Iranian court recently used Johnson's words as <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/boris-johnsons-extraordinary-blunder-could-keep-a-british-woman-in-an-iranian-jail-2017-11">evidence against a British woman serving a five-year jail sentence in Iran</a> after she was arrested in Tehran airport in April 2016 for reasons not yet known.</p><p>In November, Johnson told a parliamentary committee that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been detained in Iran because she was teaching journalism. Johnson's words were used as evidence against Zaghari-Ratcliffe when she appeared in an Iranian court on November 4. She now faces another five years being added to her prison sentence.</p><p>Zaghari-Ratcliffe has repeatedly insisted that she was on holiday in Iran when arrested, and her husband and employers have said Johson's remark was false.</p><p>"I think it's important for Boris Johnson to clarify the huge error he made," Khan told Marr. Johnson "has to go," Khan said.</p><p> </p><p>Khan brought up a string of other blunders made by the foreign minister, including a quip Johnson made in early October that the <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/boris-johnson-refuses-to-apologise-for-libya-gaffe-2017-10">Libyan city of Sirte could be turned into the next Dubai</a> by British investors if they could clear the bodies. Johnson refused to apologise for his comments, claiming his conference remarks illustrated "the reality" of life in Libya.</p><p>The London mayor also referenced comments that Johnson made about former US President Barack Obama in April 2016. Johnson, while trying to gather support for a British exit from the European Union, claimed that Obama <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/africans-for-britain-group-quits-leave-2016-4">harboured an "ancestral dislike of the British empire" because he is "part Kenyan."</a></p><p> </p><p>"If Theresa May was a strong prime minister, she would have sacked him a long time ago," Khan told Marr.</p><p>Khan's comments follow a column from <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/nov/11/boris-johnson-jeremy-corbyn-iran">Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in The Observer, calling for Johnson to fired</a>.</p><p><span>"We've put up with Johnson embarrassing and undermining our country with his incompetence and colonial throwback views and putting our citizens at risk for long enough. It's time for him to go," Corbyn wrote.</span></p><p>(Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)</p>

Sadiq Kahn: Boris Johnson 'has to go'

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a51e35bc32ae6df1a8b4b7e-1051/screen shot 2018-01-07 at 085437.png" alt="Screen Shot 2018 01 07 at 08.54.37" data-mce-source="Reuters" data-mce-caption="UK prime minister Theresa May and foreign secretary Boris Johnson" /><p class="source"><span>Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">UK prime minister Theresa May and foreign secretary Boris Johnson</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>UK prime minister Theresa May will switch up her Cabinet on Monday, Downing Street has confirmed.</p><p>According to multiple reports, it's likely that big names will keep their jobs. </p><p>Foreign secretary Boris Johnson is expected to keep his job, despite calls for his resignation over his blunders around <span>Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British-Iranian citizen currently held hostage in Iran. Home secretary Amber Rudd and</span> Brexit secretary David Davis are also thought to be safe, according to The Sunday Telegraph. </p><p>The newspaper reported that <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/01/06/justine-greening-fighting-job-theresa-may-wields-axe/">education secretary Justine Greening is fighting for her job</a>, partly because the Conservatives want to recast themselves as the party for education. </p><p>Part of the reason for the ministerial reshuffle is that Theresa May needs someone to replace her deputy, Damian Green, who <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/damian-green-resigns-from-cabinet-over-pornography-claims-2017-12">resigned from the government in December over allegations he watched porn</a> on his parliamentary computer. The Times reported that <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/hunt-tipped-to-replace-green-in-brexit-talks-bt02jhmk9">Hunt could take over Green's role in the UK's Brexit negotiations</a> with Scotland and Wales - but other reports suggested his promotion would need to wait until after the NHS' winter crisis. </p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/eurasia-groups-top-risks-of-2018-2018-1">The biggest risks facing the world in 2018</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/7pwkgdjr-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

Theresa May will switch up her Cabinet on Monday - and big names like Boris are safe for now

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c1ba27ae04d6228be2b3562-1200/gettyimages-1074448210.jpg" border="0" alt="Theresa May Cabinet" data-mce-source="Adrian Dennis - WPA Pool/Getty Images" /><p class="source"><span>Adrian Dennis - WPA Pool/Getty Images</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>LONDON - One of the big questions in British <keyword id="6358883" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="politics">politics</keyword> as we head into the New Year is whether 2019 will be Theresa May's last year as a prime minister - and if so, who will replace her?</p><p>This month she claimed she would not lead the Conservatives into the next general election - scheduled to take place in 2022 - and there is chatter in Westminster that she could step down once Brexit divorce talks finish in March. </p><p>A number of leading Conservatives have already started strutting their feathers, knowing that they need to be popular with the Conservative party membership and MPs to have any chance of succeeding May as prime minister.</p><p>In no particular order, here are the most likely candidates to inherit May's throne.</p><h2>Sajid Javid</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5bb31d909fb84c100b03f5d2-1200/gettyimages-995058476.jpg" border="0" alt="Sajid Javid" data-mce-source="Jack Taylor/Getty Images" /><p class="source"><span>Jack Taylor/Getty Images</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Home Secretary Sajid Javid is the name on all lips in Westminster at the moment.</p><p>Could he be the UK's first ever BAME prime minister? </p><p>The ex-banker has made his mark on the Home Office since replacing Amber Rudd as Home Secretary earlier this year. His eye-catching move to legalise cannabis for medicinal purposes was the first sign of his ambition, and since then he has become a key player in the Cabinet's Brexit discussions, often siding with Brexiteers on key issues.</p><p>Javid reluctantly campaigned for Remain in the 2016 referendum and he knows that he must boost his pro-Brexit credentials in order to woo a Conservative party membership which is overwhelmingly Eurosceptic.</p><p>Earlier this month he hosted a drinks reception with his Cabinet colleague, Andrea Leadsom, who we'll come onto later. It fuelled speculation that he was planning a leadership bid.</p><h2>Penny Mordaunt</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c1b762856cdcf18fa7c2a67-1200/gettyimages-1084046240.jpg" border="0" alt="Penny Mordaunt" data-mce-source="Jack Taylor/Getty Images" /><p class="source"><span>Jack Taylor/Getty Images</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Matching Javid's ambition is <keyword id="6356001" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="international">International</keyword> Development Secretary, Penny Mordaunt.</p><p>The MP for Portsmouth North has recently emerged as a favourite to succeed May amid her growing influence in Cabinet decision-making. This is particularly the case on Brexit, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/theresa-may-weekend-to-change-her-brexit-backstop-plan-and-avoid-cabinet-resignations-2018-10?r=US&amp;IR=T" target="_blank" rel="noopener">over which she has threatened to resign from the government</a>. She campaigned for Leave and is popular with pro-Brexit Conservative MPs. </p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cabinet-brexiteers-fight-to-replace-theresa-may-over-managed-no-deal-plan-2018-12?r=US&amp;IR=T" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As Business Insider reported earlier this month</a>, her Cabinet colleagues believe she is already laying the groundwork for a leadership pitch. <a href="https://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2018/09/penny-mordaunt-the-twelve-new-rules-of-politics.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In September</a>, she penned a lengthy article explaining what she believes makes an effective leader. This was seen as a precursor for her inevitable leadership bid. </p><h2>Jeremy Hunt</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c1b7642b3c21d192f64eaf5-1509/gettyimages-1060967684.jpg" border="0" alt="Jeremy Hunt" data-mce-source="Leon Neal/Getty Images" /><p class="source"><span>Leon Neal/Getty Images</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Few names on the list have as much Cabinet experience as Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt.</p><p>The ex-health secretary is a seasoned government minister who is generally well-liked across Westminster. He has been particularly well-received by Foreign Office staff who were keen to see the back of his predecessor, Boris Johnson.</p><p>Like Javid, he campaigned for Remain. And like Javid, he has said some Brexit-y stuff recently in what could be interpreted as an early pitch to the Conservative party's pro-Brexit membership.</p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/oct/01/jeremy-hunt-draws-eu-ire-over-soviet-prison-comparison" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In October</a> he raised eyebrows by comparing the EU to the Soviet Union. More recently, he insisted that the UK could "flourish and prosper" under a no deal Brexit. Quite the journey for someone <a href="https://t.co/ydvc6r0rG4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">who called for</a> the UK to have a very close relationship with the EU and a second referendum immediately following the vote in 2016.</p><p><a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jeremy-hunt-prime-minister-theresa-may-brexit-conservatives-leadership-penny-mordaunt-a8685576.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Just a few days ago</a>, he said he would like to "have a crack" at being prime minister.</p><h2>Jacob Rees-Mogg</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c1b7698e04d62258f688d14-1080/rts1soxf.jpg" border="0" alt="Jacob Rees-Mogg" data-mce-source="Reuters / Simon Dawson" data-mce-caption="Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg" /><p class="source"><span>Reuters / Simon Dawson</span></p><p class="caption">Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Jacob Rees-Mogg's lack of government experience (he has never served as a minister) and general divisiveness make him seem like an unlikely candidate to replace May as prime minister.</p><p>However, perhaps similarly to Jeremy Corbyn's unlikely rise to the top of the Labour party, Rees-Mogg has captured the imagination of his party members. Like them, he is very pro-Brexit. In fact, he is the leader of the European Research Group of vehemently pro-Leave Conservative MPs who tried to oust May a few weeks ago.</p><p>He is also an old-school Conservative who holds "traditional" Tory views, like opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage. This goes down well with a Conservative party membership containing lots of people who think the party went too far to the left under the modernisation project of David Cameron.</p><p>Given the rules of Conservative party leadership contests, in which MPs decide who the final two will be, the odds look to be stacked against Rees-Mogg. However, if the last few years have taught us anything, it is to expect the unexpected.</p><h2>Amber Rudd</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c1b76b02ab31e23791d4b92-1000/rts1n6oi.jpg" border="0" alt="Amber Rudd" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Simon Dawson" /><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Simon Dawson</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>If you're a Conservative member and Rees-Mogg really isn't your thing - if you're an avid Remainer Anna Soubry, for example - then Work &amp; Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd might just be your candidate.</p><p>The MP for Hastings and Rye had a torrid summer when she was forced to resign as Home Secretary for misleading MPs after weeks of outrage about the Windrush scandal. However, since then, she has been fiercely loyal to May, and has quickly found her way back into government. She is also very well-respected by her ministerial colleagues.</p><p>Rudd is also one of the few flag-bearers for Remain in Cabinet. Last week she said there was a "plausible" argument for another referendum and has been a staunch opponent of calls to leave the EU without a deal.</p><p>Her very slim majority is an issue. At the last election, she won by just 346 votes, making her incredibly vulnerable the next time Brits go to the polls. Nevertheless, she'd be the first choice of many moderate Conservative MPs.</p><h2>Boris Johnson</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c1ba164a040ff1c934b3f8a-1200/gettyimages-1048262502.jpg" border="0" alt="Boris Johnson" data-mce-source="Christopher Furlong/Getty Images" /><p class="source"><span>Christopher Furlong/Getty Images</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The bookies' favourite to replace May, despite everything, is ex-Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.</p><p>The last few years of Johnson's career have basically been one big pitch to be prime minister. Ever since his uncanny conversion from a mild Europhile into a staunch Brexiteer, he has had his eyes on 10 Downing Street.</p><p>His performance as Foreign Secretary has hugely damaged his reputation among Conservative MPs who once upon a time would have considered backing him. His role in the <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/nazanin-zaghari-ratcliffe"></a>Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe saga had MPs on all sides calling for his sacking long before he eventually resigned. His claim that Libyan city of <span>Sirte could be the new Dubai if they "clear the dead bodies away" was just one of many remarks that landed him in hot water. </span></p><p>Nevertheless, he remains incredibly popular with a significant number of Conservative party members. You only needed to see how many queued up to hear his speech at Tory conference in October to know that.</p><p>This month he has been "ramping up" preparations for a leadership bid, his allies told Business Insider.</p><h2>Dominic Raab</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5b7bc510e199f31c138b4eb8-1200/gettyimages-995069410.jpg" border="0" alt="Dominic Raab" data-mce-source="Jack Taylor/Getty" /><p class="source"><span>Jack Taylor/Getty</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>An influential figure in Tory circles, who has been involved in previous leadership campaigns, told Business Insider this month that they believed former-Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab would be the next prime minister.</p><p>His resignation as Brexit Secretary earlier this year in protest against May's Brexit plans enhanced his popularity among pro-Brexit Conservative MPs and members. He is also someone from the party's new generation, and was tipped to go far long before being chosen to replace David Davis as Brexit Secretary.</p><h2>Andrea Leadsom</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c1ba1a6630d9b1b49555fa4-2400/rtshd0f.jpg" border="0" alt="angela leadsom" data-mce-source="Reuters/Neil Hall" data-mce-caption="Andrea Leadsom, a candidate to become the next Conservative Party leader and British prime minister, rules herself out of the leadership battle during a news conference in central London, Britain July 11, 2016." /><p class="source"><span>Reuters/Neil Hall</span></p><p class="caption">Andrea Leadsom, a candidate to become the next Conservative Party leader and British prime minister, rules herself out of the leadership battle during a news conference in central London, Britain July 11, 2016.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Will House of Commons leader Andrea Leadsom take a second bite of the cherry?</p><p>She along with May got to the final two of the 2016 leadership contest and Conservative figures believe she would have won with the membership had she not been forced to drop out for remarks she made about May not being a mother.</p><p>Last year, she refused to rule out another leadership bid <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/andrea-leadsom-leadership-bid-theresa-may-conservative-conference-2017-10?r=UK&amp;IR=T" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in an interview with Business Insider</a>, claiming: "Anything can happen." She is popular among the Brexiteers and her allies say she is one of the most influential figures in Cabinet.</p><p>One ally recently told Business Insider that a Leadsom-Javid joint leadership bid would make a "dream ticket."</p><h2>Michael Gove</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c1ba1cd56cdcf1c0d7e22b7-1200/rtx2j73i.jpg" border="0" alt="Michael Gove" data-mce-source="Reuters" /><p class="source"><span>Reuters</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>You can't rule out Michael Gove.</p><p>The Environment Secretary is widely regarded as one of the Conservative party's shrewdest operators, evidenced by his record of generating positive headlines for the numerous departments he has led. </p><p>And compared to most of his fellow Brexiteers, Gove is arguably more capable of winning the support of pro-Remain Conservatives. After all, avid Europhile Nicky Morgan backed him in 2016.</p><p>Whether he is still popular with his pro-Brexit base is another question. His steadfast loyalty to May's Brexit plans when others have resigned has led some to question his commitment to the cause of delivering a 'proper' Brexit.</p><h2>David Davis</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c1ba1e42a5b7424ef5ddf1b-1000/rtx4xxng.jpg" border="0" alt="David Davis" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader" /><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Finally, we have David Davis. </p><p>Davis has been rejected by Conservative members in two previous leadership contests but the original Brexit Secretary will fancy one last run, given that is a champion of the clean Brexit that so many Tories members would like to see.</p><p>Pro-Brexit Tory MPs also believe he is a much safer bet than someone like Johnson, given that he is less volatile and has the experience of being around the negotiating table with EU leaders during his time as Brexit Secretary.</p><p>He has reportedly been getting into shape ahead of a leadership contest. He has lost one and a half stone, <a href="https://twitter.com/ryansabey/status/1074357677717942272" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to The Sunday Times</a>, and reportedly told friends: "I do three or four miles. It's mostly sprinting."</p><p class="tagline">Our Brexit Insider Facebook group is the best place for up-to-date news and <keyword id="6357018" type="DEFINITION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Analysis">analysis</keyword> about Britain's departure from the EU, direct from Business Insider's political reporters. Join <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/267178180471848/">here.</a></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-east-experimental-advanced-superconducting-tokamak-nuclear-fusion-reactor-100-million-degrees-2018-12">China made an artificial star that's 6 times as hot as the sun, and it could be the future of energy</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/zHpyLi0q-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

You Searched For "nazanin zaghari ratcliffe" and got 9 results

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, British woman held captive by Iran since 2016, is released

Alexandra Ma

British charity worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is released from house arrest but her ordeal at the hands of the Iranian regime is far from over

Joshua Zitser

The UK is delaying a deal with Iran to release Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe because they're afraid of angering Trump, say her lawyers

Adam Payne

Iran has released 85,000 prisoners in an emergency bid to stop the spread of the coronavirus

Adam Payne,Adam Payne

The United States' main allies are abandoning Trump over his 'dangerous escalation' with Iran

Adam Bienkov

Britain rejects swapping seized oil tankers with Iran, 4 days after Prime Minister Boris Johnson's father said it would be 'easy peasy'

Alexandra Ma

Sadiq Kahn: Boris Johnson 'has to go'

Dina Spector,Reuters

Theresa May will switch up her Cabinet on Monday - and big names like Boris are safe for now

Shona Ghosh

Who will replace Theresa May as prime minister?

Adam Payne,Adam Payne