Pope 'wrote to Iran's leader'
07/04/2007 18:32  - (SA)  

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Vatican City - Pope Benedict XVI wrote to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to intercede for the release of 15 British sailors and marines who were captured in the Persian Gulf last month, the Vatican said on Saturday.

The Britons flew out of Tehran on Thursday.

Vatican officials declined to give details about the letters, including at which point in the drama the letter was sent.

The Vatican said the pope intervened for humanitarian reasons.

Iran's ambassador to Britain has said that Tehran showed its "goodwill" in freeing the Britons on Wednesday.

The mariners were detained on March 23 while patrolling near the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab waterway, which has long been a disputed dividing line between Iraq and Iran.

Tehran contended the crew was in Iranian waters, while Britain insisted its troops were patrolling in Iraqi waters under a UN mandate.

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