TEHRAN — Iranian authorities have cut off telephone access for Lindsay and Craig Foreman, a British couple held in Evin prison in Tehran on espionage charges, their family said. The cut-off came earlier this month after the couple gave a media interview in which they said they felt abandoned in detention and that channels to secure their release were closing.

The Foremans, from East Sussex, were arrested in January 2025 while traveling through Iran during an around-the-world motorcycle trip. They were sentenced to 10-year prison terms on espionage charges, which they deny.

Telephone calls had been their only means of contact with the outside world. Their family fears the access has been cut off as payback for speaking out about their detention.

"I have not spoken to my mum for over a week now. Every day of silence makes it worse. We don't know what is happening to them and we are terrified for them," said Joe Bennett, the couple's son. He said the loss of contact had left the family unable to verify the couple's condition.

"Craig told us that they might have to stop eating if their calls were taken away," Bennett said. Before the telephone access was cut, Lindsay Foreman described conditions inside the prison, saying she heard the whistling noise of missiles and the hum of drones nearby, along with people hyperventilating and screaming.

Lindsay Foreman said: "When the buildings shake, there is nowhere to go. These buildings are not designed for safety. There's no fire escape, there's no access to the outside for us."

A government spokesman described the jail sentences as completely appalling and totally unjustifiable and said the couple's welfare is a priority for the government. In February, the Foreign Office temporarily withdrew its staff from Iran because of the threat of US strikes against the country.

The Foreign Office advises against all travel to Iran, warning that British and British-Iranian nationals face an elevated risk of arrest, questioning or detention. It says that having a British passport or connections to the UK can be reason enough for the Iranian authorities to detain a traveler.