Iran says Britons confessed to territory violation

By Fredrik Dahl

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's military said on Saturday British naval personnel seized in the Gulf confessed to entering Iranian waters illegally, but Britain maintained they were detained inside Iraqi territory and demanded their release.

Iranian forces captured 15 British sailors and marines on Friday at the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab waterway, which marks the southern stretch of Iraq's border with Iran. It sparked a diplomatic crisis at a time of increased tension over Tehran's nuclear standoff with the United States and other major powers.

The semi-official Fars news agency said they had been transferred to Tehran to explain their "aggressive action", but this could not be confirmed. Fars also said the group included some women.

"These people are under investigation and have confessed they have violated the waters of the Islamic Republic of Iran," the ISNA news agency quoted a military official as saying.

The official, Deputy Commander Alireza Afshar, told state radio the Britons were in good health. "The investigation is going on and they are healthy and there is no problem."

Iranian Arabic-language television station al-Alam later quoted him as saying the "confessions" would be made public soon without specifying how.

Afshar said they were detained on Friday by naval units of the Revolutionary Guards, the ideologically-driven wing of Iran's armed forces which has a separate command structure from the regular military.

Britain has not released the identities of the personnel.