A British couple jailed in Iran for spying have been handed a ‘totally unjustifiable’ 10-year prison sentence, as fears grow that the Middle East is on the brink of a major war involving the United States.
Lindsay and Craig Foreman, from East Sussex, were arrested in January 2025 while travelling through Iran on an around-the-world motorcycle trip and have been detained in Tehran’s Evin prison on espionage charges they strongly deny ever since.
The Foreign Secretary condemned the sentence in the strongest terms today, as tensions escalated over the possibility that Donald Trump could imminently authorise military strikes against Iran.
Yvette Cooper said: ‘This sentence is completely appalling and totally unjustifiable. We will pursue this case relentlessly with the Iranian government until we see Craig and Lindsay Foreman safely returned to the UK and reunited with their family.
‘In the meantime, their welfare is our priority and we will continue to provide consular assistance to them and their families.’
The sentencing comes amid reports that the US is preparing for a potential military confrontation with Iran.
According to CNN, American military assets have been rapidly building up in the region ahead of a possible strike decision as soon as this weekend.
Earlier on Wednesday, it emerged that Donald Trump was on the verge of approving a ‘massive, weeks-long’ military campaign against Iran that would amount to all-out war.
Diplomatic talks led by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and envoy Steve Witkoff reportedly made little progress after Tehran refused to halt all nuclear development, according to JD Vance.
Sources told Axios that the proposed campaign would include a broader regime-change objective targeting the Ayatollah, with the US and Israel acting jointly.
If launched, it would be the most consequential military invasion since the Iraq war in 2003.
Craig and Lindsay Foreman are a British couple being held in Iran on ‘spying’ charges – and have now been given a ten-year jail sentence
They were arrested in January last year while travelling through the country on an around-the-world motorcycle journey
Donald Trump could make a decision on military strikes in Iran soon, with the US military ready to potentially launch an attack by this weekend
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British couple held for over a year in Iran admit they thought ‘there’s a risk of being detained
Meanwhile, the Foremans’ family say they are increasingly alarmed by the couple’s treatment.
Joe Bennett, Ms Foreman’s son, told ITV News they had been informed of the sentence last week and his family was ‘deeply concerned’ for the pair’s welfare and the ‘lack of transparency’ in their judicial process.
He said: ‘My parents have now been sentenced to 10 years following a trial that lasted just three hours and in which they were not allowed to present a defence.
‘They have consistently denied the allegations. We have seen no evidence to support the charge of espionage.’
He added: ‘We were previously told that once sentencing occurred, further action would follow.
‘We now hope the UK Government will act decisively and use every available avenue to secure their release.’
In January, Mr Bennett was joined by former detainee Anoosheh Ashoori and Richard Ratcliffe.
Mr Ratcliffe fought a public campaign that involved two hunger strikes to have his wife Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe freed from Iran, at the steps of Number 10 Downing Street to deliver a 70,000-signature petition calling on the Government to do more.
Ahead of his sentencing, Mr Foreman said he had a one-word message for the UK Government.
He told ITV News: ‘One word would be help. Full stop. I don’t understand why we have been here for 13 months, being held hostage in 2026. In what day and age does this (happen)? When does this end?’
He described being held in an ‘eight-foot cell with a hole in the floor and a sink’ and described the effects of 57 days in solitary confinement, saying: ‘Emotionally and physically, it broke me to pieces.’
Ms Foreman, speaking to the BBC on Radio 4’s Today programme this morning ahead of her sentencing, said she came to the country on a ‘global initiative to focus on the good’.
The potential war would be the most dramatic and consequential military invasion since the Iraq war in 2003 with major implications for Trump’s remaining presidency
The couple are due to appear before a court in Tehran in the coming days. Craig Foreman said the infrequent meetings with his wife are what sustain him
As she reiterated that she does not want conflict between governments, and she hopes that ‘moving forward from this we can prevent this from happening to anyone else in the future’.
She told the BBC in a telephone interview on Wednesday: ‘I put my hand up, I take responsibility for being here.
‘We did check the Government website before arrival, but we also tried to communicate with the Government to say how does one get around the world when you have what I call the messy middle, the bit that there isn’t an easy way through or round or over, how do we navigate this?
‘And looking at the Iranian information that is available and they say guests are God’s companions, the Iranians are the warmest people you’ll meet, and so it was that version of the truth I wanted to understand.
‘And it is true, they are the warmest people, except they’re living in circumstances that don’t allow them to do that to the full extent – so perhaps the reason I’m here is to help with that.’
She added: ‘I came here as part of a global initiative to focus on the good, to focus on finding unity in humanity, and that hasn’t changed. In fact, if anything, my desire to find what connects us is even greater.
‘I do not want conflict between our Government or any government. I think as a nation, I’m proud of what we do, I think we must find ways for us to be connected in a way that is fair and just. That’s all I ask for is fairness and justice, and I hope that moving forward from this we can prevent this from happening to anyone else in the future.’
The couple are due to appear before a court in Tehran in the coming days. Mr Foreman said the infrequent meetings with his wife are what sustain him.
‘I know her prison is just 70 metres away, and I get to see her once a month,’ he said. ‘For me and for Lindsay, seeing each other is the only thing that’s keeping us going right now. I love my wife dearly. She’s the love of my life.’
A satellite view shows an overview of Fordow underground complex, after the US struck the underground nuclear facility, near Qom, Iran last June
Mrs Foreman admitted in a phone interview that her and her husband knew there was a risk in travelling to the Islamic State, but ‘thought that we’d be ok’
Mr Bennett, told ITV News after hearing of the news of his parents’ sentencing: ‘It’s been a pit in the stomach thing in the last 24 hours since finding out.
‘They weren’t in court, but they are expected to be summoned to court for that to be passed down to them as well.
‘We were kind of clinging on to (the hope that) in the end their innocence would prevail and they would be released.’
‘The Government have always said we have to wait until sentencing (to act). Now we might see the cogs moving and the Government take a stand,’ he added.
He described the prison conditions as ‘hell on earth’ and said there were 17 people in an eight-by-four cell with his father and 15 other inmates with his mother. Since they were detained those numbers have increased, he said.
‘They are on a metal frame not even mattress, it’s blankets on metal frames, there’s rats and vermin in the prison no matter where you go. ‘That’s me painting a picture but that doesn’t do it any justice,’ Mr Bennett said.
‘It depends on the day, when they are bad, I have heard my mum in an absolute state and for me that’s the hardest thing because you can’t take that away. It’s tough.’
On the conflict in Iran, he said: ‘It’s horrible because it’s not the reality I want to live or they want to live either. My heart goes out to the Iranian people.
‘I would like to think that any invention that comes along is a positive one for my mum and dad but I am by no means advocating for anyone to bomb a country.
‘I think they (his parents) definitely regret it (travelling through Iran) because they have been caught in a situation, they are not pioneers, this isn’t the first or last time people have travelled through Iran.’
