A British couple imprisoned in Iran have told their family they are fearful as US and Israeli bombs continue to fall on Tehran and prison guards abandon their posts.
Craig and Lindsay Foreman, from East Sussex, said they sheltered under beds as missiles struck the Iranian capital and warned that conditions inside Evin Prison are deteriorating sharply.
Mr Foreman, 52, and his 53-year-old wife were sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment in February on espionage charges, which they both deny. The pair were arrested in January 2025 while travelling through Iran during a round-the-world motorcycle journey.
They were among thousands of inmates at the notorious Evin jail thrown into a ‘blind panic’ when the first US and Israeli planes flew over the country last weekend, and said some air strikes were so close that the windows in their cell were blown out and plaster fell from the walls.
During the initial bombardment, guards fled the prison, which is now under the control of Nopo, a US-sanctioned Iranian counter-terrorism unit known for killing unarmed women and children with heavy machine guns.
Mrs Foreman’s son, 31-year-old Joe Bennett, said inmates are surviving on rice and gristle after Nopo closed the prison shop, leaving them without fruit or vegetables.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Mr Bennett said: ‘I am waiting for a call every day, minute-by-minute, just to know they are still alive.
‘Sometimes it comes, sometimes it doesn’t. On Saturday, my mum was just swearing down the phone. I didn’t know what was happening.
Lindsay and Craig Foreman (pictured), have told their family they are fearful as US and Israeli bombs continue to fall on Tehran and prison guards abandon their posts
The couple (pictured), from East Sussex, were sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment in February on espionage charges
Joe Bennett (pictured), Ms Foreman’s son, who has been campaigning for their freedom for over a year. He said the couple are ‘not safe’
‘I could hear screams and people scrambling for cover. Then the line cut. I was thinking what the hell is going on? It was mass panic. I thought that was it.’
Three hours later, Mr Bennett said he received a call from Mr Foreman informing him that the war had begun.
‘He told me a missile had landed less than a mile away from the prison and knocked his cell window out,’ he said.
Mr and Mrs Foreman, who are housed separately in the prison, told Mr Bennett the strikes have only intensified since Saturday.
He added: ‘It could happen any time. They are in a war zone. They are not safe.’
The message comes as Mr Bennett previously appealed to the British government to aid the couple.
In a statement, he said: ‘We remain extremely concerned about their safety and welfare. They are currently in the middle of a warzone without local consular support.
‘They are in danger of being hit by stray explosions, being caught up in local skirmishes or even being shot.
The entrance of Evin Prison (pictured) in Tehran, where Mr and Mrs Foreman are being held, and say conditions are worsening
Smoke plumes rise following missile strikes in Tehran (pictured) on March 1
‘There is also danger of starvation and water supplies running out as they are back to having no funds to buy supplies even though the prison shop is open.
‘We implore our government and that of the US to make sure that their safety and welfare, along with all the other foreign nationals held in Iran, is a priority at this time.’
A spokesperson for the family added: ‘The family remain extremely concerned that Lindsay and Craig, along with other political prisoners’ safety and welfare, are not an obvious priority to the UK or US Government.
‘They call upon the Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary and President Trump to call for Lindsay and Craig’s release along with all of the other foreign nationals who are arbitrarily detained in Iran.’
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper previously described the couple’s sentence as ‘completely appalling and totally unjustifiable,’ and pledged that the Government will ‘pursue this case relentlessly with the Iranian government until we see Craig and Lindsay Foreman safely returned.’
Dame Priti Patel, her Tory counterpart, condemned the couple’s jail term as ‘disgraceful’ and called on Sir Keir Starmer to ‘use all available leverage’ to secure their release.
The couple’s sentence was confirmed to their families last month, after they had recently sent a letter to the Iranian authorities complaining about their treatment.
Mr and Mrs Foreman (pictured) were arrested while travelling through the country on an around-the-world motorcycle journey and have consistently denied Tehran’s spying claims
Mr Bennett described the sentence as ‘gut-wrenching’ and has urged the UK Government to ‘step up to the mark’ in securing their freedom.
News from Mr and Mrs Foreman comes after a week of intense bombing in Tehran, with strikes hitting hospitals, schools and residential buildings since last Saturday.
The US and Israel began their attacks by targeting the heart of Iran’s leadership and crippling its military in the opening days of the war, killing the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran has since raised its so-called ‘Red Flag of Revenge,’ and fired ballistic missiles and drones at US allies and assets in the region.
A series of strikes have taken place across neighbouring Gulf states, with explosions heard in Qatar, Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman and Saudi Arabia.