New Delhi: There's no end in sight to the standoff between Iran and Britain over the capture of 15 British sailors.
The Iranian foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Thursday that Britain must first admit that its sailors did indeed enter Iranian waters — not Iraqi ones. That is a precondition for the release of its personnel, he said.
On a more positive note, Tehran has agreed to give Britain access to the captives. UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon also made a plea for the release of the British sailors.
A group of sailors of the British Royal Navy were detained last week by Iran on charges of “illegally entering waters.” The sailors were conducting a routine inspection of a merchant vessel at the northern end of the Persian Gulf.
Meanwhile, Iranian television has showed footage of the British sailors. The footage showed an interview with a woman soldier, Faye Turney, who admitted to the trespass.
Turney, wearing a black scarf covering her head, smoked a cigarette as she spoke with someone off camera.
While Iran has said she would be released soon, the British government has called the broadcast unacceptable, and insisted that the capture was illegal.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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