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.
