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News Middle East
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Blair denies navy in Iranian waters
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| US and UK troops regularly patrol the waters of the Gulf [EPA] |
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Tony Blair, the British prime minister, has said 15 British navy personnel detained by Iran had not entered in Iranian waters.
"They were in Iraqi water, it is not true that they went into Iranian territorial waters," Blair said on Sunday, in his first public comments since Iran seized the naval personnel and their boats on Friday
Blair described their capture as "unjustified and wrong" and said that the implications of the Iranians' action could be "very serious".
"The quicker it is resolved, the easier it is for all," he said during the European Unions's 50th anniversary celebrations in Berlin.
He also said that he hoped the Iranians "understood how fundamental an issue this is for the British government."
UN sanctions
The soldiers' capture comes soon after the UN decided to impose new sanctions aimed at forcing Tehran to halt its nuclear programme.
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"If we halt our nuclear programme it will cost us more than any sanctions"
Hesam, Tehran, Iran
Send us your views | The EU's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, said he was seeking immediate talks with Iran's leading negotiator, Ali Larijani, and also voiced concerns at the fate of the captured navy personnel.
Solana issued a statement on Saturday night, immediately after the UN resolution was passed in New York, that confirmed the continued "twin track" approach by the Europeans, US and other world powers.
That involves gradually imposing tougher sanctions if Iran fails to halt uranium enrichment but offering negotiations on economic and political advantages for Iran if it falls into line.
"We want to be as generous as possible," Solana said.
The sanctions, approved unanimously by the Security Council, include banning Iranian arms exports and freezing the assets of 28 people and organisations involved in Iran's nuclear and missile programmes.
Iran says its nuclear programme is aimed at peaceful uses such as producing electricity, but the US and Europeans fear it could be used to make nuclear weapons.
Immediate release
Meanwhile, Britain's ambassador to Tehran, has asked to see the soldiers and demanded that they be released.
Geoffrey Adams met foreign ministry officials after his return to Iran, a British diplomat told AFP.
"He asked them for information about where the 15 British sailors are being detained and the possibility of meeting them," he said.
"He also demanded their immediate release."
However, the Iranian officials did not say where the Britons were, the diplomat said.
Iran said on Saturday that the 15 had admitted to violating its territorial waters.
The country's semi-official Fars news agency also reported on Saturday that the 15 sailors and marines had been transferred to Tehran but this has not been independently confirmed.
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