Britain seeks early talks with Iran on sailors

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain said on Monday that it shared Iran's preference for early bilateral talks to solve through diplomacy the row over 15 British sailors and marines seized in the Gulf.

"We are still studying Dr Larijani's remarks. There remain some differences between us, but we can confirm we share his preference for early bilateral discussions to find a diplomatic solution to this problem," a British Foreign Office spokeswoman said, referring to comments by Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council.

"We will be following up with the Iranian authorities tomorrow given our shared desire to make early progress."