Release of Nazanin Zaghari linked to easing of Iran sanctions

Ashoori was jailed for ten years on a charge he was a Mossad spy, which he has always denied. Under the terms of the nuclear deal, Iran will regain access to frozen assets worth about £75bn, and be able to increase its oil sales by £40bn every year. In return it will return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreed under the Obama administration in 2015.

Its terms include sunset clauses which mean that it will be able to develop weapons-grade uranium after 2031. Israel has tried and failed to persuade its western allies not to reinstate the JCPOA, which President Trump withdrew the US from in 2018.

Danielle Pletka, an Iran expert at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington DC, told the JC that she expected the release of American hostages in Iran to be announced imminently: “This is all part of the same thing. Iran has been blackmailing us and this is now a wonderful vindication of their strategy.“

"The deal now on the table gives Iran everything it ever dreamt of and more. I hope for its own sake Israel is developing a strong defensive capability.”

However, UK sources defended the looming deal with one former official saying: “The JCPOA provides for extremely intrusive inspections, and continuous monitoring. Yes, the deal could be tougher. But what is the alternative? Flattening Iran?”

For now, the exact terms of the deal to reinstate the JCPOA remain secret. But if the final version does include the removal of the IRGC from the official terrorism list, President Biden is likely to encounter fierce opposition in the US Congress, even from fellow Democrats.

It emerged last month that Iran had mounted 186 separate attacks on western nations and their allies since 2015.

Earlier this week saw another, with a strike by multiple missiles on a base at Irbil in northern Iraq. Most of these attacks have been perpetrated via proxies sponsored by the IRGC.