Three Australian citizens have been detained in Iran, the Australian government said on Wednesday, adding that it was helping the families of the three but gave no further details.
The Guardian has identified the couple as Mark Firkin and Jolie King, who have been travelling since 2017. A third Australian unrelated to the couple - a Cambridge-educated lecturer - is also reportedly being held in solitary confinement.
"The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance to the families of three Australians detained in Iran. Due to our privacy obligations, we will not comment further," an Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesman said in emailed comments.
Firkin and King both hold British passports, The Guardian reports.
The detentions have come amid a growing standoff between Western powers and Iran after the US withdrew from a deal that imposed curbs on Iran's nuclear program and then imposed sanctions on it, aiming to halt its oil exports.
The couple are being held in the same prison in Tehran where a British-Iranian aid worker, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, has been jailed since 2016 on spying charges, The Times said.
"It does sound extremely concerning and of course the UK government will do everything we can to support any UK British citizens who are caught in Iran," British business minister Andrea Leadsom told Sky News.
Britain's foreign minister Dominic Raab on Wednesday raised concerns with the Iranian ambassador to Britain over the number of dual-nationality citizens detained in Iran and the conditions in which they were being held.
The Australian government's official travel advice for Iran overall is for people to reconsider the need to travel to Iran "due to the risk that foreigners, including Australians, could be arbitrarily detained or arrested. Dual nationals are also at risk."
"We can't guarantee access to consular services or legal representation if you're detained or arrested," the government says.
The Guardian says the couple were arrested about 10 weeks ago.
It was unclear when or why the lecturer was arrested, The Times said. She is being held in solitary confinement and has been sentenced to 10 years, according to a source cited by The Times.
Reuters/Newshub.
