Britain’s Ambassador to Iran, Hugo Shorter, met with two British citizens detained in Iran on security charges at the Prosecutor's Office of Kerman on February 12, IRNA reported.

The Kerman Judiciary has announced that further details would be released later. Details of the suspects were not released by either side despite a photo being released by the Iranians.

Mehdi Bakhshi, the prosecutor of Kerman, and Rahman Jalali, the deputy governor of Kerman for security and law enforcement affairs, also attended the meeting.

What is known is that the two British citizens remain imprisoned in Kerman province, but their identities and the specific charges against them remain undisclosed.

The meeting raises the possibility of a plan for a prisoner swap for the two British citizens who are not believed to be dual nationals.

Iran has a history of exchanging detained Europeans for individuals held in Western prisons with several foreign nationals in custody in Iran on different charges.

Kerman is a popular part of the backpacker trail along the ancient Silk Road along with other cities, including Shiraz and Yazd. However, unlike other countries, British, American and Canadian tourists are expected to be part of an organised tour with a government-ordained minder during their visits.

A recent example occurred last month when Italian journalist Cecilia Sala was released, followed four days later by the release of Mohammad Abedini in Italy, who then returned to Iran. Iranian authorities deny any connection between the two cases.

Iran does not usually allow British ambassadors to visit detained nationals in jail, indicating a potential diplomatic arrangement is on the cards in the coming weeks, similar to the Italian deal as Iran continues to negotiate over its nuclear programme with Britain, France and Germany (known as the E3).