Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's hunger-striking husband and relatives of other Britons held captive in Iran are 'depressed' over a lack of progress toward their freedom.
Calls are growing for the country to repay its £400million debt to the Tehran regime in a bid to get them to free the Brits imprisoned in their country.
The Shah of Iran paid Britain £650million for 1,750 Chieftain tanks in the 1970s but only 185 had been delivered when he was toppled in 1979 and the new government cancelled the order.
Britain was told to pay back £450million by the International Chamber of Commerce in a 2009 ruling but sanctions on military equipment prevent payment.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's hunger-striking husband (pictured, Richard Ratcliffe) and relatives of other Britons held captive in Iran are 'depressed' over a lack of progress toward their freedom
Pictured: Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe who was imprisoned in Iran since April 2016
Richard Ratcliffe has described a meeting with Foreign Office minister James Cleverly as 'depressing' after telling him he was coming away from it with 'no hope'.
The meeting followed talks between UK Government officials and Iran's deputy foreign minister, Ali Bagheri Kani.
And prisoner Anoosheh Ashoori's wife, Sherry Izadi, said her husband will be 'depressed' at a lack of progress in face-to-face talks between the two nations, and that the next step is for the UK to pay the debt owed to Iran.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Ms Izadi said that when she tells her husband no 'concrete result' was achieved yesterday, she thinks he will 'be feeling pretty depressed - it's been quite an emotional seesaw the last few days'.
Left to right: Aryan Ashoori, the son of Anoosheh Ashoori, Richard Ratcliffe, Sherry Izadi, the wife of Anoosheh Ashoori, MP for Lewisham East Janet Daby and Elika Ashoori, the daughter of Anoosheh Ashoori
'We'd pinned our hopes that something would be achieved from a face-to-face meeting, but it seems that we're back at square one.'
She added: 'Even to get to this stage, there has been a lot of effort to actually force the Government to acknowledge that there is a link between the payment of this debt and the dual national cases, and then to acknowledge that it's actually a debt and not a ransom, so we're making small headway.
'It's taken several years. So the next step is for them to pay it.'
MP Jeremy Hunt yesterday wrote that he believed the UK should repay its debt.
He said: 'The truth is that this is a vile, heartless regime which has no qualms about falsely imprisoning and torturing innocent people to create diplomatic leverage. This is hostage diplomacy, and using a young mum and her daughter in a brutal game of cat and mouse is nothing to them.
Pictured: Anoosheh Ashoori with his wife and daughter
'So there can be no excuses for this wicked, terrorist-sponsoring regime – and thanks to Richard’s courage the world finally knows about Iran’s hostage taking.
'But that doesn’t mean there is nothing we can do to get our people home: That is to settle a £400million debt we owe Iran for tanks that were never delivered during the time of the Shah.'
The meetings on Thursday came as Mr Ratcliffe endured his 19th day on hunger strike outside the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in London.
Mr Ratcliffe began his demonstration last month after his wife lost her latest appeal in Iran, saying his family is 'caught in a dispute between two states'.
Speaking to reporters after his meeting with Mr Cleverly, Mr Ratcliffe said: 'If I'm honest, quite a depressing meeting.
Pictured: Anoosheh Ashoori with his wife, Sherry Izadi
'In terms of what we got told, well, not much.'
He said Mr Cleverly wanted to emphasise that the meeting with the Iranian delegation had been 'cordial'.
Mr Ratcliffe added: 'He'd raised Nazanin's case, the case of the others (detainees). He said that was a good step. Couldn't give a timeline on when things were going to move forwards.'
He told reporters he would continue his hunger strike outside the FCDO 'this evening', but said he was nearing the end of it 'as a strategy'.
Asked if he was going to carry on, Mr Ratcliffe said: 'For this evening, yes.
'I think there's a basic medical limit on how long you do a hunger strike for.
'I made a promise to Nazanin, I made a promise to my family, mum in particular, and to the family doctors, that I won't take it too far.
'But yeah, I don't think we walk away head held high feeling like it's all been sorted.'
Asked how he would break the news to his daughter, Gabriella, he said: 'Well, she probably doesn't think in terms of ministerial meetings, she's just asked when mummy's coming home.
'I'm a little bit more deflated today than I was this time yesterday.'
