Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
(C) meets with a sailor (L) following his press conference in Tehran. Iran
released 15 sailors on Wednesday as a "gift" to the people of Britain in a
dramatic end to a two-week ordeal that had triggered a new diplomatic
crisis between Tehran and the West. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)
TEHRAN,
April 4 (Xinhua) -- Iran made a surprising move on Wednesday by releasing the 15
British sailors 13 days after it detained them for "illegal entry" into Iranian
waters which had strained relations between Tehran and London.
"While we insist on our rights, the 15 sailors have
been pardoned and we offer their freedom to the British people," Iranian
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told a news conference in Tehran, broadcast live
on Iranian television.
"After the press conference, they will be sent to the
airport to take a flight to their own country," he added.
But Iran's official IRNA news agency later quoted "an
informed source" as saying that the freed British naval personnel will leave
Tehran on a flight Thursday morning.
Shortly after the press conference, Ahmadinejad
participated in a "ceremony" for the 15 British sailors' release in his
presidential compound, Iran's state television reported.
The television's footage showed Ahmadinejad was shaking hands with the British naval personnel and talking to them.
The
Iranian forces seized the 15 British naval personnel on March 23 for "incursion"
into its territorial waters. But Britain said its soldiers were in Iraqi
territorial waters.
At the press conference on Wednesday, Ahmadinejad
said that no deal had been made with Britain on the issue and the release of the
British naval personnel is "a gift" from the Iranian people.
Nevertheless, the British government had promised in
a letter saying that it would not repeat the incident again, Ahmadinejad said.
Iran's state television reported that the 15 British
sailors and marines were watching the live broadcast and applauded when they
heard the announcement of their release.
Earlier at the same press conference, Ahmadinejad
awarded a medal to the commander who led the mission to arrest "trespassers."
"Here I want to thank with a medal of third-rank
bravery to the commander of the forces who defended Iran's borders and arrested
the trespassers," Ahmadinejad told the reporters.
The Iranian president presented the medal to
Abulghasem Amanghah, Islamic Revolutionary Guards naval commander.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair welcomed the
release of the15 sailors and marines who had been held in Iran for nearly two
weeks, saying that Britain respects Iran's "proud and dignified history."
"I'm glad that our 15 service personnel have been
released and I know their release will come as a relief not just to them but to
their families that have endured such stress and anxiety," he said in a
statement.
The 13-day crisis came to an end Wednesday after both
Iran and Britain had softened their rhetoric and stepped up contacts over the
recent days.
Blair said on Tuesday that the next two days would be
"fairly critical" in the bid to secure the release of the 15 captured British
sailors.
"The next 48 hours will be fairly critical," Blair
told the Real Radio based in Glasgow, southwest Scotland.
On Tuesday, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali
Larijani told Iranian state television that Britain had started talks with
Tehran on resolving the standoff over the capture of 15 British sailors.
It is "only at the beginning," he said. "Things can
change and we could go towards an end of this issue if they continue on this
path."
Larijani on Monday said Iran's priority was to resolve the problem through proper diplomatic channels, and "there's no need to have a trial on the detained sailors."
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