The floating station will feature a modern and contemporary design, inspired by boats and yachts, to facilitate easy access, boarding, and disembarking
uae4 hours ago
Aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe accused Britain and Iran on Monday of treating her like a political pawn, saying it should not have taken six years for London to secure her release from detention in Tehran.
Appearing at a news conference in parliament in London, the 44-year-old said she would always be haunted by her time in prison but would slowly work to rebuild her life with her daughter, 7, and husband away from the spotlight.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who holds both British and Iranian citizenship, returned to Britain last week from Iran, where she was held for six years after being convicted of plotting to overthrow the clerical establishment.
She returned alongside another dual national, Anoosheh Ashoori, after London resolved what it called a parallel issue - repaying to Tehran a 400 million pound ($526 million) debt dating back to 1979 for the purchase of military tanks that were never delivered.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe said she had been told shortly after her arrest that the Iranians wanted "something off the Brits", and she could not understand why it had taken six years, and five different foreign secretaries, for it to be resolved.
"I mean, how many foreign secretaries does it take for someone to come home? Five?" she asked. "What's happened now should have happened six years ago."
A spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said all foreign ministers had worked hard to secure her release.
"The government, including the prime minister, was committed to securing Nazanin's release as soon as possible. It was always entirely in Iran's gift to release detained dual nationals," he told reporters.
"All the foreign secretaries who have taken on this role have worked hard with officials to secure the release. It has been extremely complicated, it has been very difficult work."
Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested by Revolutionary Guards at Tehran airport on April 3, 2016, while trying to return to Britain with her then 22-month-old daughter Gabriella from an Iranian New Year's trip to see her parents.
Her family and her employer, the Thomson Reuters Foundation, denied the charge against her. The Thomson Reuters Foundation is a charity that operates independently of Thomson Reuters and its news subsidiary Reuters.
ALSO READ:
"I have been a pawn in the hands of the two governments over the past six years," she said. Zaghari-Ratcliffe thanked her family, friends and journalists for keeping her case in the spotlight, and said she was determined not to hold a grudge for the rest of her life.
She added that she only believed she was going home when she finally stepped on to the plane.
"Gabriella told me on the phone one day when I was in Iran, 'Mummy you do realise that you are very famous, and then it's me, and then it's daddy'," she said, adding that she told her daughter it would be better to have a "normal" life.
"And she said, 'Oh you're not going to be famous forever. Maximum a week'."
The floating station will feature a modern and contemporary design, inspired by boats and yachts, to facilitate easy access, boarding, and disembarking
uae4 hours ago
Several European nations have said the Israeli premier would be detained if he set foot on their soil, following the ICC arrest warrant against him
world4 hours ago
Regular classes will resume on Wednesday, December 4, announced KHDA
uae5 hours ago
It is the world's longest driverless metro system and the first phase will see three of the six routes become operational
gulf5 hours ago
Kanchana Duangsam sets pace in Female Division, but Anayaa Sood hot on her heels, just one shot behind
sports5 hours ago
Skies will light up in UAE colours at some popular family-friendly spots in the country
uae attractions6 hours ago
India's Gukesh Dommaraju will begin a best-of-14 series for the title against reigning Chinese champion Ding Liren on Monday
asia7 hours ago
Chelsea are third in the Premier League standings behind leaders Liverpool and reigning champions Manchester City
football7 hours ago