Iran releases five detained British sailors
Says their illegal entry was “a mistake”
Five British yachtsmen detained in the Gulf last week by Revolutionary Guards were freed Wednesday after it was determined they had inadvertently strayed into Iran's territorial waters, Iranian media said.
"The five Britons who had illegally entered with their vessel into the territorial waters of the Islamic Republic of Iran and who were arrested near the Siri Island have been freed hours ago, state radio quoted a statement by the Guards as saying.
The elite force whose navy patrols the Gulf waters said the five sailors were interrogated and "after investigation it became evident that their illegal entry was a mistake."
"So they were freed after taking the needed written commitments."
The five had been held since Nov. 25 and on Tuesday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's chief of staff Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie warned they would be dealt with "firmly" if found guilty of illegal entry into Iranian waters.
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki late on Tuesday and called for formal consular access to the men and their speedy release. They were detained on Nov. 25.
Relations between Britain and Iran have been dogged by tension in recent years over a range of issues, from Tehran's nuclear program to Iranian allegations of British involvement in post-election violence in June this year.
Britain stressed the five men were civilians and played down parallels with an incident in March 2007 when Iran seized eight British Royal Navy sailors and seven marines off its coast.
Miliband had also demanded consular access to them, saying they appeared to have "inadvertently" strayed into Iranian waters.
He also said the incident has "nothing to do" with politics or the standoff over the Islamic republic's nuclear program, which the West suspects has military aims despite Tehran's denial.
The five Britons who had illegally entered with their vessel into the territorial waters of the Islamic Republic of Iran and who were arrested near the Siri Island have been freed hours agoStatement by the Guards
Politicizing the issue
But Tehran accused London of politicizing the issue.
"This was not a political issue at all, but the British government mistakenly tried to deal with it politically," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told Mehr news agency after the five were reportedly freed.
"They tried to take advantage from this politically and exaggerated the issue."
Andrew Pindar, chairman of the Sail Bahrain team which owns the sailors' yacht, had said the vessel may have drifted into Iranian waters due to a damaged propeller.
"We received a call from the crew stating that they had been stopped by an Iranian navy vessel," he said in a statement.
"We understood that the crew believed they were in UAE waters, but due to a fault with the propeller, they may have inadvertently drifted into Iranian waters."
The five were sailing from Bahrain to Dubai for a race when their yacht, "The Kingdom of Bahrain," was stopped last Wednesday in the Gulf, the British Foreign Office said on Tuesday.
They were believed to have been intercepted near the Iranian-controlled island of Abu Musa, whose ownership is disputed by Iran and the United Arab Emirates, a Bahraini interior ministry source told AFP.
The seizure of the five was reminiscent of the detention by Iran of 15 British navy personnel in the Gulf in 2007.
In the 2007 incident, eight sailors and seven marines were captured on March 23. Britain insisted they were in Iraqi territorial waters, while Tehran said they were in Iranian waters.
We understood that the crew believed they were in UAE waters, but due to a fault with the propeller, they may have inadvertently drifted into Iranian watersAndrew Pindar