Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh confirmed Wednesday that the British government has paid off its debt to Iran, to which the Iranian people had a right, after more than 40 years of negotiations.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry’s website announced that the paid debt equals nearly 390 million pounds, including the debt service until the last day.

Khatibzadeh stressed that "the Islamic Republic did not back down on the right of the Iranian people.”

He also underlined that the British government linked settling its debt to Iran to political issues.

According to Iranian news agency IRNA, "The debt included the main part of the prepayment (and its interest), which Iran had given to Britain for Chieftain tanks which had not been delivered to Iran."

Payback first transferred to the Central Bank of Oman

British newspaper The Guardian claimed that no agreement had been reached to repay Britain's debts to Iran through the Central Bank of Oman and that the debt was paid through Swiss financial channels.

However, IRNA cited an informed source as saying that the debt is now in Iran's Central Bank, explaining that the payback was first transferred to the Central Bank of Oman before the Omani bank transferred the money to Iran.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry said Iran appreciates the brotherly and friendly Oman for the constructive and valuable role it played in this process.

No relationship between UK's payback and prisoners' release

Simultaneously, Khatibzadeh confirmed that the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran ordered the release of prisoners Nazanin Zaghari and Anousheh Ashouri "out of Islamic mercy and on humanitarian grounds."

He concluded by reiterating that "there is no relationship between Britain’s payback of its debt to the Islamic Republic and the release of these prisoners."

The Iranian diplomat pointed out that Iran and Britain signed an agreement on settling the debt to Tehran last summer, however, the UK government did not abide by the agreement.