THE family of a British woman jailed in Iran have said they are feeling "more positive" her ordeal may soon end after her case status was changed to eligible for early release.

The latest twist in the case of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who holds dual UK-Iranian nationality, comes after Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson's visit to the country earlier this month.

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's sister, Rebecca Ratcliffe, said: "She's spoken to her lawyer, she's seen her lawyer yesterday, and her lawyer has now discovered that on a judiciary database, her case is marked eligible for early release - that's a change, we thought it was always a closed case.

"It doesn't mean to say she is going to get early release, but it's definitely a positive step that she has been marked eligible for early release.

"The lawyer is much more positive and Nazanin is much more positive."

Dr Ratcliffe’s brother, Richard Ratcliffe, added that since Mr Johnson's visit there had been "incremental improvement" in her case, including allowing her more phone calls.