Theresa May is to make a personal plea for the release of a British mother jailed in Iran as she meets with world leaders in New York. The prime minister will sit down with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani when she attends the United Nations General Assembly later today, and will raise "serious concerns" about the detention of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. The British-Iranian mother was arrested in Imam Khomeini airport in 2016. Last month, she was granted a three-day release from prison and reunited with her daughter Gabriella. Her request for her release to be extended was denied, and she was forced to say goodbye to her four-year-old girl. A senior government official said: "The PM will express serious concern at Nazanin's ongoing detention and call for her to be released upon humanitarian grounds." Advertisement Amnesty International welcomed the news, saying it was "a step in the right direction". Image: Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is still in prison in Iran It is just one item on the prime minister's agenda during the visit to New York, where she will also call for a crackdown on chemical weapons after novichok was used on the Skripals in Salisbury. When she addresses the UN Security Council on Wednesday, she will say action must be taken to prevent further use of chemical weapons and deal with previous incidents. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Sept: Nazanin's husband praises Jeremy Hunt Speaking before the visit, Mrs May said: "The red lines around the use of chemical weapons are being eroded. "The Syrian regime has repeatedly used these appalling weapons against its own people while the Russian state has deployed them on UK streets. "Attacks such as Salisbury and Ghouta are despicable in their own right, but they are also a threat to the wider international system. "Each time we fail to challenge the use or development of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) it erodes the framework of treaties we have built up so painstakingly over the past few decades. "We worked closely with our allies on a coordinated response to Russia's use of chemical weapons in Salisbury, resulting in 28 countries as well as NATO joining us in expelling a total of over 150 Russian intelligence officers, the largest collective expulsion ever. "But the international community needs to do more together, both to prevent future chemical weapons use and to ensure those who use them are held to account, but also to tackle the range of other threats to global security, including the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction." Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Vladimir Putin said Russia identified the two men involved with poisoning the Skripals, and hoped they will come forward. Russia has denied any involvement in the attacks in Salisbury, with the two accused of the attack claiming they were tourists visiting the "wonderful town" to see its cathedral. Meanwhile, trade in a post-Brexit world is expected to dominate talks with US President Donald Trump, as Mrs May pushes for a strong deal with the US. After he had to publicly apologise to his British counterpart for saying the Brexit plans would kill off a trade deal with America, the prime minister told reporters she did "trust" Mr Trump. Mrs May told CBS This Morning: "We have a special relationship. This is two people reflecting as leaders of their two countries - the relationship that those two countries have and have built up over a number of years." Image: Mrs May said she does trust Mr Trump Her sitdown with Mr Trump will be one of the last engagements on the two-day trip to New York City. A senior government official said: "They both have a strong commitment to securing a strong UK-US free trade agreement once we have left. "There is work ongoing already in relation to technical talks with the US and a host of other countries."<doc-sep>Theresa May has told Iran's president of her "serious concern" about the detention of a British charity worker in Tehran as she met the leader in New York on Tuesday. The Prime Minister urged Hassan Rouhani to free Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was detained at Imam Khomeini airport in April 2016. The British-Iranian mother, who works for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, was sentenced to five years in jail after being accused of spying by Tehran's Islamist regime, a charge she vehemently denies. Last month she was granted a three-day release from Evin prison but her request for an extension was denied and she was forced to say goodbye to her four-year-old daughter, Gabriella, and return to jail. "The Prime Minister raised our consular cases in Iran, including that of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe," Downing Street said of the talks held on the fringes of the United Nations General Assembly.<doc-sep>British Prime Minister Theresa May said Iran has honored the multilateral agreement to limit its nuclear weapons program and said the deal should remain in place, in sharp contrast with U.S. policy under President Donald Trump who has pulled America out of the deal. "From what we see, we believe that it is doing that," May told "CBS This Morning" co-host John Dickerson in an interview Friday when asked if Iran has been abiding by the agreement. She said that the question of Iran's adherence to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action is "an area where I do have a difference of opinion" with Trump. "We do agree with the United States that there are other aspects of Iran's behavior that we need to be dealing with, too," May said, citing as examples the country's development of ballistic missiles and its actions that "destabilize the region." "We need to address those issues, too. But we also want to ensure that we have a nuclear deal in place that prevents them from getting a nuclear weapon," she said. The interview with Dickerson took place Friday and will air Monday morning. May said that Britain and the other nations that worked on the JPCOA believe "it should stay in place." Keeping the deal in place will mean Britain and the other signatures will not adhere to some U.S. sanctions on Iran and that companies from those countries can conduct business with the theocratic regime. On "Face the Nation" Sunday, Dickerson asked U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley about May's comments. "The Europeans have a decision to make," Haley said. "And I think that decision is already being made. If you look, they are dropping business from Iran left and right." Dickerson pointed out that the United Kingdom is permitting companies to do with business with Iran and asked Haley if it was still the administration's position that "anyone doing business with Iran will not be doing business with the United States." "That is still the case. And that's the conversation for Prime Minister May and President Trump to have. But that’s still very much the case. We're not going to give exemptions to Iran," Haley said. Trump is expected to use a series of speeches to push a hard line against Iran during meetings at this week's annual United Nations General Assembly in New York.<doc-sep>
The Prime Minister told Iranian president Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday that she had “serious concerns” about the jailing of the 39-year-old. The London charity worker and mother of one is serving a five-year sentence in Tehran after being arrested by Iranian Revolutionary Guards for spying, a charge she denies. During talks on the fringes of the United Nations General Assembly, Mrs May called for the British-Iranian woman’s release. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is reunited with her daughter for the first time since her arrest in April 2016 / PA It came after Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt demanded rapid action to secure Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s freedom during his first face-to-face meeting with Iran’s foreign minister. He told Javad Zarif that Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe must be returned home quickly. In a statement Mr Hunt said: “I again pressed for Nazanin’s swift release – she deserves to be back at home with her family.” Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested at Tehran airport as she was attempting to board a flight back to the UK with her daughter following a trip to see family in the capital. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe cuddles Gabriella, 4. / PA She was separated from her daughter, now four, and was jailed for allegedly conspiring against the Iranian regime. Last month she was handed a three day temporary release where she was reunited with her daughter. Despite attempts to get the release extended, she returned to prison. The 39-year-old remains in a political prisoner’s wing in the jail. During Mrs May’s meeting with President Rouhani she underlined the UK’s commitment to the Iran nuclear deal. Britain and its European allies responded with dismay to US president Donald Trump's decision to pull out of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that relieved sanctions on Tehran in return for an end to Iran's military nuclear ambitions.