All 15 British naval personnel captured by Iran have confessed to illegally entering Iranian waters when they were seized, Iran state TV channel said.
LONDON/TEHRAN: All 15 British naval personnel captured by Iran have confessed to illegally entering Iranian waters when they were seized, Iran state TV channel Al Alam said on Monday. However, the claim was immediately rejected by the Foreign Office in London, which reiterated its position that the sailors and marines were in Iraqi waters in the Shatt-al-Arab when they were captured on March 23.
“We can only reiterate our position. They’ve been detained against their will, we have not had consular access, we have made it quite clear they were seized in Iraqi waters and we want them released,” a statement said.
The new claim from Tehran followed the screening of new footage on Iranian television in which one of two senior personnel “confessed” to trespassing into Iranian waters.
The footage aired on TV showed the two men, named as Royal Marine Captain Chris Air and Lieutenant Felix Carman, standing in front of a map of the Persian Gulf, stating that they had been shown computer records confirming that they had indeed been seized inside Iranian waters.
The Foreign Office spokesman condemned the footage as “unacceptable,” while sources in London said that diplomatic efforts to secure the release of the 14 men and one woman were continuing.
Meanwhile, Britain has agreed to consider discussing with Tehran ways of avoiding disputes over contested waters in the Persian Gulf, an official said on Monday, as Iran state run radio cited what it called “positive changes” in the British position.
Government ministers were attending a meeting of Britain’s COBRA crisis committee over the 15 British sailors and marines held since March 23.
In a letter sent in response to a note from Iranian officials, Britain agreed to consider discussing how to avoid such situations in the future, said a British official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations. But Britain is not “negotiating” with Iran and it wants the release to be unconditional, the official said.
Discussions on avoiding disputes were part of normal diplomatic talks, said a Foreign Office official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with government policy.
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