UK couple in Iran end hunger strikes, family says

British couple Lindsay and Craig Foreman, who are detained in Iran on espionage charges they deny, have ended their latest hunger strikes, their family said Monday.

The couple, both in their early 50s, were seized in January 2025 as they travelled through central Iran on a round-the-world motorbike trip. They were each sentenced in February 2026 to 10 years in prison. Craig Foreman's stepson said in July that two years were later added to Craig Foreman's term for talking to the media.

Relatives said the couple began their latest hunger strikes in May to protest the physical toll of their detention. They said Craig Foreman's strike lasted 93 days and Lindsay Foreman's lasted 84 days.

The family said the couple ended the protest after almost three months and turned the final five days into a “fast for good” to draw attention to their own detention and to other people imprisoned in Iran.

The couple have complained about overcrowded and unsanitary conditions at Evin Prison in northern Tehran. Rights groups say the prison holds political prisoners and foreign nationals.

United Nations rights experts warned about a month into the latest hunger strike that the couple were at serious risk and said their detention could amount to “hostage-taking”. Lindsay Foreman's son Joe Bennett said the immediate focus was their health, welfare and release after more than 18 months in detention. He said that had become more challenging because the UK embassy was closed again on July 22 and is operating remotely.