Iran says jailed British couple charged with espionage

Two British nationals arrested last month in southern Iran have been charged with spying, Iranian authorities said Tuesday.

The UK Foreign Office identified the couple as Craig and Lindsay Foreman, saying later on Tuesday it was "deeply concerned" by the charges.

"We continue to raise this case directly with the Iranian authorities," the Foreign Office said in a statement.

According to Iranian judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir, the pair had entered Iran "posing as tourists" and were gathering information around the country before their arrest in Kerman province.

The judiciary's Mizan news agency cited Jahangir as saying that they were being held by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) on "espionage charges" and were accused of having links to intelligence agencies of "hostile countries."

Who are the Foremans?

British media reported that the Foremans are a married couple in their 50s who had been on a motorbike trip around the world at the time of their arrest.

According to social media posts, they had crossed into Iran from Armenia in December and were planning to travel on to Pakistan before making their way to Australia.

Britain's Foreign Office said last week that it was "providing consular assistance to two British nationals detained in Iran" and was in contact with Iranian authorities. British Ambassador Hugo Shorter met with the couple at the Kerman prosecutor's office last week.

Dozens of citizens from Western countries detained

Iranian authorities have arrested dozens of foreigners and dual nationals on security and espionage-related charges in recent years.

Some Western countries accuse Tehran of holding people prisoner on trumped up charges so that they can later be used as bargaining chips in negotiations with the West. Iran denies those accusations.

The British Foreign Office advises against all travel to Iran.      

Edited by: Saim Dušan Inayatullah