|
Iran to free British sailors
04/04/2007 15:49 - (SA)
Tehran - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on said on Wednesday he had pardoned the 15 British sailors and marines in the Gulf last month.
He announced the pardon minutes after he gave medals of honour to the Iranian coast guards who intercepted the sailors and marines, saying Iran will never accept trespassing of its territorial waters.
"On behalf of the great Iranian people, I want to thank the Iranian coast guard who courageously defended and captured those who violated their territorial waters," the president told a press conference.
He then interrupted his speech and pinned medals on the chests of three coast guard officers involved in capturing the British sailors and marines in the northern Gulf on March 23.
"We are sorry that British troops remain in Iraq and their sailors are being arrested in Iran," said Ahmadinejad.
He criticised Britain for deploying leading seaman Faye Turney, one of the 15 detainees, in the Gulf, pointing out that she is a woman with a child.
"How can you justify seeing a mother away from her home, her children? Why don't they respect family values in the West?" he asked of the British government.
|
News
