Iran defiantly rebuffed international demands yesterday for the release of 15 seized British naval personnel, claiming that the sailors and Royal Marines had confessed to entering its waters in an illegal act of aggression, and were now to be prosecuted in the Iranian capital.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Mohammad Ali Hosseini, claimed in a statement that the Britons were engaged 'in illegal and suspicious' activities, suggesting that Iran might claim they were spying.
Iran, the US and the UK have been involved in a tit-for-tat round of accusations. Washington and London accuse Iran of widespread interference in Iraq, including the supply of weapons that have resulted in the deaths of soldiers serving in the multinational forces there.
The West also accuses Iran of engaging in uranium enrichment to develop a nuclear weapon. Last night the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to impose tougher sanctions against Iran in the hope of sending a strong message that it will grow increasingly isolated by refusing to abort its nuclear enrichment programme.
A senior Iranian official told the Fars news agency that the 14 British men and one woman had been taken to Tehran for further investigation. He added that 'documents and evidence existed' - including from the sailors' own GPS equipment - that demonstrated that they knew they had strayed into Iranian waters.
The claims were hotly denied by British officials and US officials, who said that the two high-powered British 'ribs' - rigid inflatable boats - were 'miles' inside Iraqi waters when they were surrounded by Iranian patrol boats on Friday.
The British claim appeared to be backed up by an eyewitness account from an Iraqi fisherman who told Reuters that he saw the capture of the servicemen, following their inspection of a ship suspected of carrying smuggled cars. The fisherman added that the ship was anchored on the Iraqi side of the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab waterway, the border between the two countries.
It was also confirmed yesterday that the men had been detained by members of the naval force of the Revolutionary Guard, the organisation accused by both the US and Britain of channelling arms and other material to Shia militias in Iraq.
In London, Foreign Office minister Lord Triesman held an hour-long meeting with Iran's ambassador, Rasoul Movahedian - the second meeting in two days between British officials and Iran's ambassador - to demand the 'immediate release' of the seized Britons. The meeting was described as 'frank but friendly'.
The demand was supported by European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who pledged 'support and solidarity' yesterday for Britain over the seizure, and said the incident must not complicate a push to impose further sanctions on Iran.
Iran's President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, says the country's nuclear programme is aimed only at generating power. The new package of sanctions targets Iran's arms exports, its state-owned bank, Sepah, and senior figures in the Revolutionary Guard.
'We are doing our utmost in co-operation with the British authorities,' Solana told journalists at an EU summit in Berlin. 'They have our support and solidarity.'
He said a second UN Security Council resolution to impose sanctions on Iran would go ahead regardless. 'The resolution will follow its course,' he said.
The demand for the men's release was echoed by Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Foreign Minister of Germany, which holds the EU presidency.
A spokesman for Iran's defence forces, General Alireza Afshar, said the 'arrest' was made by members of the Revolutionary Guard within the Iranian territorial waters on Friday, and added that the servicemen were being interrogated and were now 'facing prosecution' after confessing to an act of 'aggression' in Iranian waters.
He told Iranian radio that the arrested Britons were in 'good health' and that the 'confessions' would be made public.
''The Australian'' has reported that an internet website "run by associates of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad" states that the 15 British sailors who were arrested by Iranian Revolutionary Guards could face charges of espionage. The source website for this claim remains unknown; however, ''Rajanews.com'', a news website run by some of supporters of Ahmadinejad said on their website: "If the charges of espionage is brought against them the result would be heavy punishment by current law."

"If it is proven that they deliberately entered Iranian territory, they will be charged with espionage. If that is proven, they can expect a very serious penalty since according to Iranian law, espionage is one of the most serious offenses," said the news report which also called the sailors "insurgents." Individuals who are tried and found guilty of espionage or spying would be penalized by death, according to Iranian law.
An inflatable British patrol boat similar to the two seized by Iran on March 23, 2007. (File photo: Patrol boat assigned to HMS ''Cardiff'' seen in Iraq in 2002)
The Iranian government initially gave the position of the incident as being ''outside'' Iranian territorial waters. General Alireza Afshar, Iran's top military general, then stated that the sailors were engaged "in illegal and suspicious activities" inside Iranian waterways at the time of their detention and that the sailors "have admitted to violating the territorial waters of the Islamic republic". After the UK queried the statement by General Alireza Afshar, the Iranian government gave a revised position for the incident, now placing it ''inside'' Iranian territorial waters.

Reports also say that the sailors are being held until five Iranian guards, detained in Iraq by the United States early in 2007, are released to the Iranian government.



"As soon as the corps’s five members are released, the Britons can go home," an unnamed source close to the command of Qods Force, who also said that Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei approved of the trade off.

The sailors and marines, from the frigate , had been inspecting, in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1723, a ship that was believed to be smuggling cars into Iraq, though it was subsequently cleared after inspection when Iranian gunboats surrounded the sailors and arrested them at gunpoint.

Reports also say that the sailors were taken to the Iranian capital of Tehran where they are allegedly going to appear before a court. It is not known when they will appear before the court in Iran or when the hearing will be held.

As a result of the detention of the sailors, the United Kingdom has activated their "", which is Britain's crisis management team as the U.K. denies that the sailors were in Iranian waters. Tony Blair, the U.K.'s Prime Minister, calls the situation "unjustified and wrong."

"This is a very serious situation and there is no doubt at all that these people were taken from a boat in Iraqi waters. I hope the Iranian government understands how fundamental an issue this is for us. They should not be under any doubt at all about how seriously we regard this act, which was unjustified and wrong. It is simply not true that they went into Iranian territorial waters," Blair claimed during a news conference today who also stated that the situation could be resolved within the next couple of days.

"The quicker it is resolved, the easier it will be for all of us," added Blair.

In a press release March 25,  Minister  stated, "We've been insisting that the sailors should be released immediately - there is no reason to hold them - that they should be released unharmed and that we should be in a position to assure their families that they are in good health and that they're safe."

Triesman indicated that meetings have taken place with Iranian officials over the release of the seized British sailors, and that "they're delicate discussions."