Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe thanked her “amazing, wonderful” husband Richard for “tirelessly” campaigning for her as she spoke to media for the first time since arriving back in the UK.
She also thanked daughter Gabriella “for being very, very patient with mummy to be coming home”.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe criticised the fact it took five changes of foreign secretary before she was released, adding: “What happened now should have happened six years ago.”
Zaghari-Ratcliffe said the journey back home was “tough”.
Referencing her husband thanking the government a few moments earlier, she said: “I do not really agree with him on that level.”
She said she has seen five foreign secretaries over the course of six years, adding: “That is unprecedented given the politics of the UK. I love you Richard, respect whatever you believe, but I was told many, many times that ‘Oh we’re going to get you home’.
“That never happened.”
She said this resulted in her finding it difficult to place trust in them, adding: “I mean, how many foreign secretaries does it take for someone to come home? Five?”
Zaghari-Ratcliffe told reporters: “What’s happened now should have happened six years ago.”
