Post by Babyboomer on Apr 4, 2007 11:43:39 GMT -5
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran said Wednesday that the country had "pardoned" and would release the 15 British sailors and marines who have been held there for nearly two weeks.
The remarks appeared to bring a swift resolution to a crisis that began on March 23, when Iranian coast guards seized the 15 Britons in the northern Persian Gulf, saying they had trespassed on Iranian territorial waters.
Speaking at a news conference in Tehran, Ahmadinejad said that the captives would be taken to Tehran airport immediately after he finished his remarks. "They are free after this meeting, and can go back to their families," he said.
He also went out of his way to praise the coast guards responsible for seizing the Britons, interrupting his remarks to pin a medal on the chest of the coast guard commander.
www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/04/africa/web0404-iran2.php
The remarks appeared to bring a swift resolution to a crisis that began on March 23, when Iranian coast guards seized the 15 Britons in the northern Persian Gulf, saying they had trespassed on Iranian territorial waters.
Speaking at a news conference in Tehran, Ahmadinejad said that the captives would be taken to Tehran airport immediately after he finished his remarks. "They are free after this meeting, and can go back to their families," he said.
He also went out of his way to praise the coast guards responsible for seizing the Britons, interrupting his remarks to pin a medal on the chest of the coast guard commander.
www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/04/africa/web0404-iran2.php
