WORLD / Middle East
Britons leave for London, ending Iran standoff
(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-04-05 12:39
SMILES
After his announcement, a smiling Ahmadinejad met several of the sailors
and marines, dressed in smart suits, shaking hands with them and
exchanging a few words through an interpreter.
Video grab shows Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaking to Britons
who had been detained in Iran at a ceremony to mark their release, April
4, 2007. The 15 British naval personnel will leave the country from
Tehran airport on Thursday, an official Iranian source said. [Reuters]
"We are very grateful for your forgiveness," one of the sailors told
Ahmadinejad. "I would like to thank yourself and the Iranian people."
U.S. President George W. Bush welcomed the news, as did European Union
president Germany.
In Britain, relatives of the 15 expressed their joy. "It is brilliant
news. I am very happy with it," Nick Summers, brother of Nathan Summers,
one of the captives, told Sky News.
British newspapers also welcomed the end of the standoff but questioned
how it came about.
"They're coming home," read the headline in the Daily Telegraph, adding:
"But was a secret deal struck to secure the release of 15 British
prisoners?"
The Daily Mirror carried the headline "Freedom!" but said: "Now the
questions: Were they in Iranian waters? What deals were done? And has
this been a diplomatic triumph for Blair or a humiliation for Britain?"
Before making his announcement, Ahmadinejad awarded a medal to the naval
commander who captured the 15 and criticised Britain, making it look as
if he might not free the Britons.
Iranian and British officials had negotiated to find a diplomatic
solution to a standoff that had added to international tension over
Iran's disputed nuclear programme, the subject of U.N. Security Council
sanctions.
Ahmadinejad said he was willing to consider re-establishing ties with the
United States if that country "changed its behaviour", but did not expand
on his remark.
He defended Iran's right to develop nuclear technology and threatened to
retaliate for sanctions imposed on Iranian banks.
The United States, which has accused Tehran of having a secret programme
to build atomic weapons, said if Iran wanted to change relations with
Washington it would have to halt uranium enrichment. Iran says its
programme is only for electricity.
The Shatt al-Arab waterway, where British and Iranian naval vessels
operate daily, remains an area of potential conflict because the border
between Iran and Iraq is poorly defined.
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