Kerman

They have been charged with espionage, with Iranian state media reporting they were being held in the south-eastern city of Kerman.

A photograph was published of the couple, with their faces blurred, meeting the British ambassador Hugo Shorter at the public prosecutor's office in Kerman.

After staying in the cities of Tabriz, Tehran and Isfahan, accompanied by a tour guide, they travelled on to Kerman, in east-central Iran, but never checked into their hotel there.

News of their arrest first came from state-run media in Iran which said they were in custody in the south-eastern city of Kerman, accused of unspecified security-related offences.

It did not name them but published a photograph of them with their faces blurred, meeting the British ambassador, Hugo Shorter, at the prosecutor's office in Kerman on Wednesday.