WORLD / Middle East
Iran to release 15 British sailors
(AP)
Updated: 2007-04-05 08:59
British naval personnel who were detained in Iran wave to journalists
after they were released as a "gift to the British people" by Iranian
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran April 4, 2007. [Reuters]
TEHRAN, Iran - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defused a growing
confrontation with Britain, announcing the surprise release of 15 captive
British sailors Wednesday and then gleefully accepting the crew's thanks
and handshakes in what he called an Easter gift.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair expressed "profound relief" over the
peaceful end to the 13-day crisis. "Throughout we have taken a measured
approach -- firm but calm, not negotiating, but not confronting either,"
Blair said in London, adding a message to the Iranian people that "we
bear you no ill will."
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The announcement in Tehran was a breakthrough in a crisis that had
escalated over nearly two weeks, raising oil prices and fears of military
conflict in the volatile region. The move to release the sailors
suggested that Iran's hard-line leadership decided it had shown its
strength but did not want to push the standoff too far.
Iran did not get the main thing it sought -- a public apology for
entering Iranian waters. Britain, which said its crew was in Iraqi waters
when seized, insists it never offered a quid pro quo, either, instead
relying on quiet diplomacy.
Syria, Iran's close ally, said it played a role in winning the release.
"Syria exercised a sort of quiet diplomacy to solve this problem and
encourage dialogue between the two parties," Syrian Foreign Minister
Walid al-Moallem said in Damascus.
The announcement of the release came hours after U.S. House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi met with President Bashar Assad in Damascus, trying to show that a
U.S. dialogue with Syria -- rejected by the Bush administration -- could
bring benefits for the Middle East. The British sailors were not part of
their talks, and it was not clear if the release was timed to coincide
with her visit.
Iran's official news agency said the British crew was to leave Iran by
plane on Thursday at 8 a.m. By Wednesday evening they had still not been
handed over to the British Embassy in Tehran and the embassy said it was
not clear where they would spend the night. A spokesman for Blair would
only say "the process is under way."
Ahmadinejad timed the announcement so as to make a dramatic splash,
springing it halfway through a two-hour news conference.
The president first gave a medal of honor to the commander of the Iranian
coast guards who captured the Britons, and admonished London for sending
a mother, Leading Seaman Faye Turney, on such a dangerous mission in the
Persian Gulf.
He said the British government was "not brave enough" to admit the crew
had been in Iranian waters when it was captured.
Ahmadinejad then declared that even though Iran had the right to put the
Britons on trial, he had "pardoned" them to mark the March 30 birthday of
the Prophet Muhammad and the coming Easter holiday.
"This pardon is a gift to the British people," he said.
After the news conference, Iranian television showed a beaming
Ahmadinejad on the steps of the presidential palace shaking hands with
the Britons -- some towering over him. The men were decked out in
business suits and Turney wore an Islamic head scarf.
"Your people have been really kind to us, and we appreciate it very
much," one of the British men told Ahmadinejad in English. Another male
service member said: "We are grateful for your forgiveness."
Ahmadinejad responded in Farsi, "You are welcome."
The breakthrough caught the British government by surprise. On Tuesday,
Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett cautioned reporters not to expect a
quick end to the standoff.
The U.S. cautiously welcomed Iran's announcement, though Vice President
Dick Cheney said "it was unfortunate that they were ever taken in the
first place."
With the timing unclear for release of the captives -- President Bush and
others have called them "hostages" -- administration officials reacted
positively but allowed Blair to do the lion's share of the public talking.
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