Iran said on Monday all 15 British sailors it detained last month had confessed to illegally entering its waters, and broadcast new pictures of the servicemen apparently admitting to their error
"All evidence, including the GPS carried by the British military and also the frank confessions of all 15 British personnel shows that they have entered Iran's territorial waters without permission," state television said.
The detention of the 14 men and one woman has further poisoned relations between Iran and the West at time of mounting international impatience with Iran over its refusal to rein in its contested nuclear programme.
During its report, state television also showed very brief images of all 15 of the sailors and marines talking to camera. But the sound was not broadcast and it was not clear if this was their "confessions". The ISNA news agency, without citing its sources, said that all 15 of the sailors had now given detailed confessions to camera of their entry into Iranian waters.
"At about 10 o'clock in the morning, we were seized, apparently at this point here, from their maps, from the GPS they've shown us, which is inside Iranian territorial waters," said one of the men, Captain Chris Air.
Meanwhile, Britain ruled out Monday any climbdown over demands for the unconditional release of 15 naval personnel being held by Iran, following their "stage-managed" appearances on Iranian television.
Prime Minister Tony Blair's official spokesman also said that "a lot is going on behind the scenes" to secure the release of the British sailors and marines captured in the northern Gulf on March 23. "The Iranians know our position. They know that stage-managed TV appearances aren't going to affect that position. They know that we have strong international support," the spokesman told a press briefing.
Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said Britain replied on Saturday to a letter from the Iranian embassy that had asked London to acknowledge that the sailors had trespassed and guarantee it would not happen again.
"We have responded to the Iranians initial letter and we are waiting for further responses," said Blair's spokesman. "There's a lot going on behind the scenes." British foreign office spokesman dismissed claims from Tehran that all 15 naval personnel had confessed to trespassing in Iraqi territorial waters.
"We can only reiterate our position," the spokesman said. "They've been detained against their will, we have not had consular access, we have made it quite clear they were seized in Iraqi waters, and we want them released." The Foreign Office also dismissed media reports that Britain and Iran had agreed to discuss ways of avoiding disputes over contested waters in the Gulf.
"The priority is getting access to our individuals who have been detained and getting their release," the spokesman told AFP, speaking on the customary condition of anonymity.
"We have had an exchange of notes with the Iranian authorities and we're waiting for them to respond. The contents of such notes are confidential between ourselves and the Iranians," he said. "So any suggestion, implication that we're discussing avoiding going into their waters or something is a little speculative at this stage," he said.