UK sailors glad to be free
2009-12-02 23:25
Tehran - Iran on Wednesday released five Britons detained in the Gulf after their yacht strayed into Iranian waters, averting a diplomatic row on top of Tehran's disputes with the West over its nuclear programme.
The five British yachtsmen joyfully decked their vessel with UAE flags as they reached Dubai on Wednesday after Iran accepted they had strayed accidentally into the country's waters and released them.
Wearing white shirts with "crew" on the back, the men were all smiles as they came ashore, shaking hands and embracing waiting friends.
"We are fine... It is a great relief... Everybody is feeling great to have this all behind us," one of the men, David Bloomer, told Sky News by telephone.
"We were treated very well. We are all extremely happy to be free. They towed us out to international waters, we dropped the sails and here we are," he said.
The skipper, Oliver Smith, told reporters on arrival in Dubai they were treated well during their brief detention after they drifted into Iranian waters following a breakdown.
"All the crew were blindfolded except for me," he said. "I was told to steer the boat to dock. We were all questioned together."
"Obviously it was a fairly tense situation the first couple of days. The longer we stayed there and they got to know us, they did relax... They treated us very well," Smith said. The Iranians even let them out in the evenings.
A mistake
"It was a mistake to end up there... We had no intention of upsetting anyone," he said.
Charles Porter, father of 21-year-old Luke Porter, said in London that his son was a "laid-back, very solid character".
"His first words to his mum were 'Mum, I'm out. We've had a bit of trouble but I'm okay,' as if it was a bad rugby game he had been through, rather than a pretty hideous experience."
He added: "We've spoken to Luke. He's very, very tired; he's been through a lot. He said that the first couple of days were quite upsetting, but then they got the feeling they were not dealing with anything sinister."
Iran's Revolutionary Guards, whose naval forces patrol Gulf waters, said the men had been interrogated and, "after investigation, it became evident that their illegal entry was a mistake."
"So they were freed after taking the needed written commitments."
The five had been held for a week after straying into Iranian waters as they headed from Bahrain to Dubai for a race.
Britain and Iran are at loggerheads over Iran's nuclear programme, which Washington and its European allies fear is a cover to build bombs. Iran insists its nuclear work is aimed at generating power to meet booming domestic demand.
Hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused Britain on Tuesday of "tainting the tranquillity" of Iran's talks with six major powers over its nuclear activities, state television reported.
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said earlier he had received confirmation the men were on their way towards Dubai.
Consular matter
"I welcome the fact that this has been dealt with in a professional and straightforward way by the Iranian authorities. As I said yesterday, this is purely a consular case," he told reporters.
"Obviously this has been an ordeal for the young men and their families and I'm delighted it's over for them and that we can call the matter closed," he said.
The yacht, "The Kingdom of Bahrain," was stopped on November 25. Andrew Pindar, chairman of the Sail Bahrain team, which owns the yacht, said the vessel might have entered Iranian waters due to a damaged propeller.
It was believed to have been intercepted near the Iranian-controlled island of Abu Musa, whose ownership is disputed by Iran and the United Arab Emirates, a Bahraini interior ministry source told AFP.
Britain had stressed the five men were civilians and called for their speedy release. A senior Iranian official warned on Tuesday that Iran would take serious measures against the five if it proved they had "evil intentions".
"After getting necessary guarantees, Iran released the five," state radio quoted the elite Revolutionary Guards as saying. "We reached the conclusion that they entered Iran's territorial waters by mistake."
Not political
Iran's Foreign Ministry said the detention of the five Britons was not politically motivated.
"Britain exaggerated about the detention of the five. They wanted to use this case to pressure Iran," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told the semi-official Mehr news agency.
Miliband agreed there had been no wider significance.
"It was never a political matter and I welcome the fact that they've dealt with it in this professional way. It shows that diplomacy can work," he said.
Iran also accuses the West, particularly Britain and the United States, of fomenting unrest in the Islamic state after its June 12 presidential election. London and Washington deny the allegation.
The vote returned the hardline Ahmadinejad to power by a large margin, his reformist opponents cried foul and thousands of Iranians took to the streets in the biggest anti-government protests in the 30-year history of the Islamic Republic.
The election dispute also exposed deep rifts in the normally opaque political and religious establishment.
Three Americans who crossed into Iran from Iraq in July are still in detention and face spying charges. Their families say they were hiking and strayed across the border accidentally.
Iran seized eight British Royal Navy sailors and seven marines off its coast in 2007. They were released after 15 days.