Iran said on Saturday that 15 British service personnel detained by its navy off Iraq had admitted to violating its territorial waters, rejecting demands from London for their swift release.
The semi-official Fars news agency said the 15 naval personnel, who include a woman, had been brought to the capital Tehran for questioning about what they were doing during what Britain insists was a "routine" anti-smuggling patrol on Friday.
Armed forces general staff spokesman General Alireza Afshar said the 15 had admitted to their interrogators that they knew they were inside Iranian waters, contrary to the insistence of the British defence ministry that they had remained in Iraqi waters.
He accused the British military of seeking to "create a climate of tension at a moment when a (UN Security Council) resolution on Iran (over its controversial nuclear programme) is to be put to the vote despite the fact that Iran seeks calm and stability in the region".
Junior foreign minister Lord David Triesman met Rasoul Movahedian at the ministry for about one hour in what a spokesman told AFP were "frank, but polite" talks about the 14 men and one woman's detention. The German presidency of the European Union also called for the immediate release of the British personnel.
Although it is not the first time British sailors have been seized by Iran in the waterway, the incident came as the UN Security Council prepared to adopt new sanctions against Tehran over its controversial nuclear programme.
British newspapers expressed fears the sailors might be used as a bargaining chip in the mounting war of words between Tehran and Washington which has been spearheading the UN enforcement action.
Some 500 Iranian students demonstrated against the "British aggression" on Saturday on the Iranian side of the Shatt al-Arab, the narrow waterway known as Arvand Roud in Persian, that divides it from Iraq.
In June 2004, eight British sailors and marines were detained for three days in On that occasion Iran insisted that the British boats - which it has not yet returned, were intercepted only after they entered Iranian waters on the Shatt al-Arab
Meanwhile, families and colleagues of the eight Royal Navy sailors and seven Royal Marines faced an anxious wait for news. British newspapers Saturday speculated that Iran may be using the 15 as a bargaining chip as the United Nations prepares to vote on new sanctions against Tehran over its disputed nuclear programme.