Captive sailors "fit and well"
The hostages are believed to be based on HMS Cornwall (pictured)
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Monday, 26, Mar 2007 10:28
Iran has assured British diplomats that 15 Royal Navy personnel seized last week are "fit and well".
But at talks at the Middle Eastern country's foreign ministry in Tehran, a senior Iranian official refused to tell the UK's ambassador where the 14 men and one woman are being held.
Iran is considering whether to formally charge the sailors, taken captive on Friday in the northern Gulf, with trespassing in its waters.
The Ministry of Defence, the Foreign Office and Tony Blair have all repeatedly insisted that the eight sailors and seven marines from HMS Cornwall were in Iraqi waters when their patrol boats were boarded at gunpoint by Iranian security forces.
But British diplomats are taking a more cautious approach to negotiate the release of the Royal Navy sailors, with Iran's foreign ministry responding by pledging to "resolve the matter as soon as possible".
"The foreign ministry assured us that the group were fit and well and in Iran, but gave no further details at this stage," a Foreign Office spokeswoman said after today's meeting between British ambassador Geoffrey Adams and Ebrahim Rahimpour.
Speaking earlier to reporters at the UN, Iranian foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki first suggested that the captive sailors could expect legal proceedings.
"The charge against them is the illegal entrance into Iranian waters and this issue is being considered legally," he said.
The message was reiterated by Mr Rahimpour, who said that "violations, incidents and contradictory remarks of British officials after each incident have created reactions among [Iranian] people and officials".
Yesterday Mr Blair condemned the "serious situation" of the HMS Cornwall sailors.
"They should not be under any doubt at all about how seriously we regard this act which was unjustified and wrong," he told reporters in Berlin where he was celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome.
"I hope that it can be resolved over the next few days but the quicker it is resolved the easier it will be for all of us," he added.