Iran releases 2 British Iranian citizens from prison

British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and dual national Anoosheh Ashoori arrived in Britain from Iran on Thursday, Reuters reported.

They arrived at the British military airbase of Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, shortly after 1 a.m. local time, after flying back via a brief stopover in Oman. They walked off the plane together and smiled and waved as they entered an airport building.

"It has been a really difficult 48 hours," British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said shortly after Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Ashoori arrived at the base. "The expectation was that they would be released but we weren't sure right until the last minute so it's been very emotional but also a really happy moment for the families."

In February, as months of talks on reviving a 2015 nuclear deal inched closer to an agreement, Iran, which holds a dozen Western dual nationals, said it was ready for a prisoner swap in return for the unblocking of frozen assets and release of Iranians held in Western jails.