Tehran, December 02: Five British yachtsmen detained last week in southern Gulf waters by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have been released, the elite force said in a statement today.
“The five Britishers who had illegally entered with their vessel into the territorial waters of the Islamic Republic of Iran and who were arrested near the Siri island have been freed hours ago,” Fars news agency quoted the statement as saying.
The Guards said the five sailors were 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 since November 25 and yesterday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s chief of staff Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie warned they would be dealt with “firmly” if found guilty of illegal entry into Iranian waters.
–PTI