Original subtitles

This programme contains some strong language,

and scenes which some viewers may find upsetting

♪ If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands

♪ If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands

♪ If you're happy and you know it and you really want to show it

♪ If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands. ♪

Yay! Is that good? Shall we do it again?

Yeah?

♪ If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands

♪ If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands... ♪

They're definitely watching, the Iranians.

Yes, they'll be filming us.

Shall I offer them a piece of birthday cake?

Best not.

As you say, as long as they know we're here, that's all that matters.

Although it is forbidden,

and although I fear punishment,

I need to write down what is happening to me

and how I feel.

Today was yet another interrogation lasting hours.

Same question over and over -

"What is your mission?"

They terrorise and intimidate me.

They know my weakness is my family - my child, my husband.

MOVEMENT OUTSIDE ROOM

DOOR UNLOCKS AND OPENS

PHONE RINGS

TAP RUNS

WOMAN SHOUTS

SHE BANGS ON THE DOOR

TOILET FLUSHES

TOILET FLUSHES AGAIN

SECOND HAND TICKS

Look at the camera.

THEY CHAT AND LAUGH

AMIABLE GREETINGS

SHE POUNDS ON THE DOOR

HE SOBS QUIETLY

Another lie, another game, and now she's God knows where.

Can we ask, have they actually officially asked the question,

"Where is she?

"What the hell's going on?" Or is that not allowed?

In fairness, the Foreign Office will say

they've already asked that question.

Yeah, but we've received not one satisfactory answer.

At the moment, I can only follow government advice.

And for the sake of Nazanin's safety,

not speak out in public.

Yeah, I can't rule out not going to Iran myself.

I think I need to go there.

But it's not safe, Richard, and the Foreign Office would never allow it.

But I think that's a decision for later.

How much later?

How much later?

Sexy.

SHE PRESSES THE BUZZER

SHE KEEPS BUZZING

Nothing new to report, Mr Ratcliffe.

Which is not to say dialogue's halted.

Both the ambassador and minister are involved personally.

Did you see my emails? We did. We read all of your emails.

She was told she was to be released.

She called her family

and told them a car would be taking her to Kerman airport.

Yes, I saw. Did she get inside the car?

Did she travel to the airport? Where is she now?!

These are my concerns.

"Is she alive?" is another.

We are raising these shared concerns, Mr Ratcliffe.

Let me assure you, we are taking this matter very seriously.

Thank you.

One question.

Why are you here...

...when you still have other more important things

to be getting on with? Yeah. Um...

I'm doing my best, Patrick.

I'm... getting some things done.

I don't think I've been totally useless...

Richard, I'm not suggesting anything other than paid leave of absence.

So, go.

Get Nazanin home safely,

then come back and do your job.

Take a look at this photograph.

This picture was taken from my phone.

This is private.

Who are these people?

Who do you think they are?

You know who they are. They're my family.

It's... it's...

It's my husband's brother, his new wife, and an elephant.

Do I need to tell you which is which?

I don't know.

I'm telling you the truth.

You will STOP LYING!

I'm telling you the truth.

Do my family know where I am?

Do my family know where I am?

You have been trained to lie.

SHE SOBS

The names you've just spoken, I do not know.

I am telling you the truth.

I was raised to tell the truth.

HE LAUGHS

She says that you have encouraged her to flee from Iran.

That is not true.

And cross the Kurdish border.

That is not true.

Are you saying she's lying to me?

No, I'm saying it is you who's not telling the truth.

But your cell is bugged. We've heard every word spoken.

Then you will know what I'm saying is true.

Stop it with your lies and your tricks.

Stop it!

This will not end until you cooperate.

We are very patient. I want to see my daughter.

I want to speak to my husband, my family.

Why are you doing this to me? Why?

Why? Why? Why?!

QUIETLY: Why?

VOICE OVER: My darling little child.

My body is aching for you.

It knows you're gone, and I miss you.

Where have you been all this time?

What have you been doing?

What have you been thinking each day when I'm not there?

Gisou? Gisou!

Gisou! Richard?

Richard? Richard!

VOICES APPROACH

UNTRANSLATED SPEECH

NAZANIN SQUEALS SOFTLY

Hello!

CHILD GRIZZLES SOFTLY

Oh, let me kiss you.

Let me kiss you.

UNTRANSLATED SPEECH

Sh.

I want you to tell me everything you've been doing. Everything.

THEY SING

Mmm!

INAUDIBLE WHISPERING

SINGING CONTINUES

SINGING STOPS ABRUPTLY

Mr Ratcliffe, are you still there? Yes. Yes, I am.

As far as I've been able to establish, there is no such deal.

Nothing.

Well, I'm just repeating what her brother in Iran was told.

I mean, if there's no such deal, then why would they say there is?

The Iranians say many things.

There is no deal. No agreement to be made.

We have no idea

why her interrogators would claim that there is.

Right. Thank you.

Who do you think is telling the truth?

The Iranians saying there is an agreement to be made,

or the Foreign Office saying there isn't?

I want to believe the Iranians,

because that means there's a reason Nazanin is being held.

But I...

I also want to believe in the Foreign Office

and that maybe there's a reason they can't say anything.

That's right.

We don't know.

I desperately want to trust them.

Us.

The British.

They... They will be doing something.

Not a great turnout.

Not great timing from us, to be fair.

All anyone's interested in is Brexit.

Thank you for coming.

Today marks the 100th day of Nazanin's abduction.

For 100 days, a mother, a British citizen,

has been held inside an Iranian prison,

wilfully separated from her child.

The intelligence services

are admitting that they are detaining a mother and baby,

not because of any suspicious activity in Iran,

but as collateral for an unknown political deal.

And they have asked me to make this unknown deal known to you,

the media.

Now backed by over 780,000 voices,

this petition will be delivered to Number 10.

I'm asking the Prime Minister, David Cameron,

and his Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond,

to condemn Iran's actions in Parliament

and to ask the question, "What is this deal Iran is seeking?"

Thank you.

For Nazanin.

They say that stone will turn into ruby

by enduring patience.

Yes, it will,

but with that comes so much pain.

From Farah.

For Farah.

Thank you for your poem.

I pray it will give me the strength I will need in the years to come.

DOOR UNLOCKS AND OPENS

SHE CALLS

SHE SOBS QUIETLY

PHONE LINE RINGS

Hello?

Hello? Richard, my love.

Nazanin, darling.

How are you? Where are you?

Richard...

...they say I'm guilty.

Of what?

I've been sentenced to five years of prison.

Guilty of what?

Five years.

That is the sentence, yes, but what is it they say you are convicted of?

In five years, my baby will be seven.

No, no. Nazanin, now, listen to me.

We will get through this, and I promise...

I promise you I'll devote every hour to bringing you home.

Five years apart. We will bring you home.

I promise.

Naz.

PHONE CUTS OFF

SHE SOBS

NAZANIN SPEAKS SOOTHINGLY

Hey...

DISHES CLATTER

PHONE RINGS

Hello?

MAN ON PHONE: Is this Richard Ratcliffe,

husband to Nazanin Zaghari?

Who is this? I can't say. Not yet.

Is this Richard Ratcliffe?

It is.

Richard, do you have a pen and paper?

You are going to want to write this down.

Yes. Go on.

Regarding your claim of an outstanding deal

between the Iranian and British governments, you are not wrong.

The company you should investigate

is called IMS - International Military Services Limited.

They are fully owned by the British Ministry of Defence.

They owe money, and are currently being dragged through

the British courts by MoD Iran, no less.

If this is all true, it would help to know who you are.

It's all true, my friend.

Dig deep. The information is there.

Good luck.

2002, and we have something interesting.

IMS make a payment of £400 million to a UK court as a security, a bond.

Why would they do that? A dispute?

It has to be some kind of debt, doesn't it?

It's a debt. Look. An award of damages plus interest

was made against the company in connection

with a contractual dispute with the government of Iran.

There's a reduction in the debt from 500 to 400 million in 2006.

But after that, there's no record

of either a £400 million payment, or cancellation of the debt.

A statement for the subsequent years

shows that the dispute is ongoing.

The latest negotiations taking place in 2016.

Just before Nazanin was taken.

We'll need to see the court records from 2002 to the present.

Get on to Penny Madden.

IMS did indeed pay a size able amount of money

to the UK courts as security for a debt owed to Iran,

the claimant being the Iranian Ministry of Defence.

Wow. It all dates back to the 1970s, would you believe?

Over 40 years ago.

But this argument is still very much alive.

In fact, closed door negotiations between the UK and Iranian

governments last took place in March and May of this year,

2016.

The outcome of these negotiations was what, Penny?

Well, as far as I can see, no agreement was reached.

But we were told they were holding on to her in May.

Coincidence, or were the Iranians trying to force an agreement?

Penny, can you talk us through

everything you've found, please, beginning in the 1970s?

It's 1971, and the oil-rich Shah of Iran

signs a £650 million contract with the British government

for weaponry and military vehicles, including tanks.

The contract is made with the commercial arm

of the MoD - International Military Services,

a limited company, IMS.

Fast forward to 1978, 1979,

and we have the Iranian Revolution.

I remember it. I remember it being on the news.

CHANTING

The Shah is overthrown and he flees the country.

At this point, the Shah has already paid £100 million to IMS

for tanks which, bar the odd few,

have yet to be delivered, and now will never be delivered.

So Iran wants its money back... with interest.

And why not? They're demanding their money back?

This is when?

Early 1980s. It becomes a legal dispute early 1990s.

PENNY MADDEN VOICE OVER: Iran takes IMS

to the European Court of Arbitration in the Netherlands,

and they win.

IMS appeals on spurious grounds.

The case goes to the Dutch Supreme Court,

which rules in favour of Iran, and the arbitration becomes enforceable.

So where's the problem?

Besides us paying the silly buggers?

Well, initially the Iran-Iraq war.

HELICOPTER BLADES WHIR

Saddam Hussein was our man in the Middle East.

Iraq actually received some of the tanks Iran had paid for.

Oh, dear God.

The war lasts between 1980 and 1988.

Legal arguments begin early '90s,

all the way through to the noughties.

Then EU sanctions against Iran kick in around about 2008.

But everything changed in January this year, 2016.

The nuclear deal. JCPOA.

Yes. What's that?

Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action...

...between Iran, the US and the EU.

Very good, Jeff. Common knowledge.

The plan of action allowed EU sanctions to be lifted.

That is, most sanctions.

Meaning that we, the UK,

could pay 400 million to the Iranian Ministry of Health,

for instance.

But they can't pay, won't pay,

the now 400 million to the Iranian Ministry of Defence.

Even though it's their money?

Even though we'd just be giving it back?

Exactly. So it's not a payment, it's a refund.

What we have to do is show that this debt

is the reason Nazanin was taken.

Wow. Extraordinary.

CHILD: Maman?

NOISE OUTSIDE DOOR

Maman? Gisou!

PHONE RINGS

Richard, it's me.

My darling. Can you hear me? I'm here.

Can you hear me?

I can't do this.

What do you mean?

I want you to care for Gabriella like I know you will.

Nazanin, what are you saying?

It would be easier for you to forget me.

You must move on with your lives without me.

No, Nazanin. No, I do not accept that.

I need you. Gabriella needs you.

We love you.

That isn't going to change. Ever.

Naz...

Nazanin?

Um, hello?

I, er... I the man...

...er, looking after your, er...wife.

I hope...

...you...will...

...collect her...soon.

I want to say it out loud.

I want the public to know that my wife is being held

in solitary confinement

in an Iranian prison

for the non-payment of a 40-year-old tank debt.

I feel the Foreign Office know that, too,

but they won't admit it.

So...

...how best do we do that?

I know a journalist at the Sunday Times that might help.

Is he good? Do we know him?

No. You wouldn't know him, but he's well thought of.

Yes. Sunday Times is good.

I mean, a splash in the Times may well lead to more publicity.

We could try for the Today programme. It is a political story.

I think we should inform the Foreign Office of our intentions.

I'll write to Tobias Ellwood,

tell him we have all the details of the tank debt and request a meeting.

All right?

VOICE OVER: My dear, darling husband.

I've loved you so much.

Forgive me.

I cannot be apart from you.

I cannot be apart from Gisou.

And I cannot bear for you to be apart from your daughter

whom you love so dearly.

I release you, my love.

GISOU BABBLES

SHOUTING:

"I release you, my love."

She must have written the note when she was refusing food.

But now things have changed.

They brought her food when we were there.

She is a prize to them.

She has value.

She needs to know that she is not forgotten.

She needs to know that we are here. I am here always.

Do you hear me, Mohammad? Always.

And I always will be. Always.

She needs to know I will keep my promise.

REPORTER: The husband of a woman who is in jail in Iran

has accused the Foreign Office of dragging its feet

on seeking her release.

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's husband, Richard Ratcliffe

says the Foreign Office has not done all it could do,

and he thinks he knows why..

...who says she is being used as a bargaining chip.

Iran says that Britain owes it £400 million

as part of an arms deal dating back 40 years or so.

The Foreign Office won't tell us

anything about that particular situation, but has said...

You've seen it?

Yeah, I've seen it.

What the fuck has happened?

Were we not promised a splash?

With only one source, it's you claiming one thing

and the Foreign Office saying another.

And I think we may well have been briefed against.

Meaning what?

Meaning that...

...one or two people in the media will have been told,

quite sympathetically, that...

...Richard Ratcliffe is understandably emotional

and going through a very difficult and traumatic time.

So what now? PHONE VIBRATES

You answer your phone, we'll go for a pint.

It's Penny.

Penny? Yes, I've seen it.

Forget that. That's old news.

We've been offered a meeting with Tobias Ellwood.

When? Day after tomorrow.

It's unheard of.

Is he rattled, do you think?

Well, we certainly have his attention.

Both we at the Foreign Office and the Iranian minister

are aware of your most recent press appearance -

the BBC's Today programme,

and the piece in the Sunday Times.

Yes.

The Iranians are concerned

that you're trying to politicise the agenda.

No. All I want to do is to bring Nazanin home safely, and soon.

Which is what I told them.

But it does not help that you appear to be,

if not misinformed, then misguided.

Your emotional response

is, of course, natural and understandable.

Perhaps some form of therapy might help.

Thank you for your... concern.

And perhaps if I clarified the position in relation to the tanks?

Please. The tanks were due to be sold to the Iranians in the 1970s.

The British government took the money, but did not supply the tanks.

Instead, those tanks went to Iraq.

All the money received from Iran then sat in an account.

However, due to the sanctions now in place,

it's not possible to deliver this money to Iran.

There's no way around this - by using the Omanis, for example?

No, the Iranians are aware of this.

So what did the Revolutionary Guard mean when they said,

"Tell your government to do a deal?"

Well, they are part of a hardline government

who are encouraging you to highlight, quite falsely,

that the West does not play fair.

Pure propaganda.

Nazanin being taken and the tank deal

are very much two separate issues.

Then why have they taken her, if not for leverage?

Paranoia.

You would agree, there are thousands of Iranians

in exactly the same position as Nazanin.

Anyone who appears suspicious will be on their radar.

This is a mother and baby.

The only thing that could identify Nazanin

as being suspicious is her dual nationality.

Her passport is why she was taken,

and her passport gives them leverage.

It's not us or our campaign

that has politicised her kidnapping.

You are emotional and under enormous pressure.

Of that I am certain.

And pressure leads to... misunderstandings.

Make no mistake,

the Iranians watch for every word spoken,

be it Prime Minister's Questions,

in the press, or the Today programme.

Your approach and your campaign are, to put it bluntly, damaging.

You have people around you

who are saying "well done," but they are wrong.

We must be seen by the Iranians, Richard, to be as one.

You could tweet that you just met with Tobias Ellwood, for example.

You mean well. Of course you do.

But... perhaps a more useful outlet for both you and Nazanin...

...would be to keep a diary.

MOURNFUL SINGING

CLOCK TICKS