Two British-Australian women have been arrested and detained in Iran, a Sky source has confirmed.
One of the women is a blogger who had been traveling through Asia with her Australian boyfriend, and the second woman is a university lecturer who had been working at an Australian university.
Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed it was providing assistance to three people detained in Iran.
The blogger and her boyfriend were reportedly arrested about 10 weeks ago. They had been in the country as part of a long trip which they were documenting on social media.
The Times cited a source as saying that the blogger had been told by Iranian authorities that she was being held as part of a plan to facilitate a prisoner swap with Australia.
The university lecturer has been in jail for almost a year and is in solitary confinement.
According to the report, she has been sentenced to 10 years in jail, although her alleged crime is not known.
The two cases are understood to be unrelated.
The Times reported that the women are in Tehran’s Evin jail, whereBritish-Iranian mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffehas been held since 2016 on spying charges.
The two women are thought to be the first British passport holders who do not also have Iranian nationality to have been jailed in Iran recently.
The arrests come amid a souring in relations between Britain and Iran, after issues such as the seizure by the Royal Marines in July of anIranian oil tankernear Gibraltar.
Two weeks later, theBritish-flagged oil tanker Stena Imperowas seized by Iran for alleged marine violations in the Strait of Hormuz. Seven of the Swedish-owned vessel’s 23 – strong crew members have since been released.
The British Foreign Office has been warning dual Iranian citizens not to travel to Iran, but news of the arrests is likely to raise questions about the level of danger to travelers of other nationalities too.
The FCO’s travel advice for Iran currently says: “There is a risk that British nationals, and a higher risk that British-Iranian dual nationals, could be arbitrarily detained in Iran.
“All British nationals should consider carefully the risks of traveling to Iran.”
The Foreign Office has not commented, as Australian officials are taking the lead on the two
A spokesperson for Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs said: “The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance to the families of three Australians detained in Iran.
“Due to our privacy obligations, we will not comme nt further. “
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings