UK Urges Iran to Stop ‘Unfair’ Detention of Dual Nationals

PM Rishi Sunak leaves his home address in London, Britain October 22, 2022. REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska
PM Rishi Sunak leaves his home address in London, Britain October 22, 2022. REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska
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UK Urges Iran to Stop ‘Unfair’ Detention of Dual Nationals

PM Rishi Sunak leaves his home address in London, Britain October 22, 2022. REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska
PM Rishi Sunak leaves his home address in London, Britain October 22, 2022. REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska

Britain will never accept the detention of its nationals as diplomatic leverage, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's spokesperson said on Wednesday, urging Iran to stop detaining dual nationals after the arrest of seven people with links to the UK.

"We are urgently seeking further information from the Iranian authorities on the reports of those British-Iranian dual nationals," Sunak's spokesperson told reporters.

"We've always said that we will never accept our nationals... being used for diplomatic leverage and we urge the government of Iran to stop its practice of unfairly detaining British and other foreign nationals."

Protests have gripped Iran since the September 16 death in custody of Iranian-Kurdish Mahsa Amini, 22, after her arrest in Tehran for an alleged breach of the country's strict dress code for women.

In an intensification of the state crackdown, Iran this month executed two people in connection with the protests, drawing international rebuke and new sanctions.



Russian Drone Strike Kills 2, Wounds 14 in Ukraine's Odesa

A view shows an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Nina Liashonok
A view shows an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Nina Liashonok
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Russian Drone Strike Kills 2, Wounds 14 in Ukraine's Odesa

A view shows an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Nina Liashonok
A view shows an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Nina Liashonok

Two people were killed and at least 14 wounded when a Russian drone smashed into a residential high-rise in Ukraine's Black Sea city of Odesa, authorities said on Saturday.

Three children were among the wounded in the overnight attack, with one in critical condition, said regional Governor Oleh Kiper.

Footage posted by the State Emergency Service showed firefighters battling a blaze and rushing residents down a dark stairwell in the 21-storey building.

Separately, authorities of Ukraine's southern Kherson region said one person was killed and three others were wounded in Russian strikes over the past day.

"Russian troops targeted critical and social infrastructure and residential areas in the region," Kherson's governor, Oleksandr Prokudin, said on Telegram early on Saturday.

Russia has stepped up drone and missile strikes on Ukrainian cities in recent weeks as diplomatic efforts to end the nearly three-and-a-half-year-old war have stalled.