Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday he would free 15 British sailors and marines as a ”gift” to Britain.
In a dramatic announcement, Ahmadinejad said while he was ”saddened” by Britain’s violation of Iran’s borders and felt the country was not ”brave enough” to admit it made a mistake, he was willing to forgive.
”Under the influence of the Muslim Prophet [Iran] forgives these 15 people and gives their freedom to the British people as a gift,” Ahmadinejad said at the end of an hour-long news conference.
The announcement, made with a dramatic flourish by the Iranian president, sent oil prices down after a sharp rise during the 13-day crisis. United States stock futures and the dollar rose.
”I ask Mr [Tony] Blair not to punish the soldiers with the charge of accepting and telling the truth,” he said in reference to taped ”confessions” from the sailors and marines saying they had entered Iranian waters.
The Iranian president said the captives — 14 men and a woman — would be released immediately after the news conference.
Britain welcomed Ahmadinejad’s statement and said it was seeking details on the ”method and timing” of the sailors’ release.
The White House said President George Bush also welcomed the statement.
Nick Summers, the brother of Nathan Summers, one of the captives, was jubilant. ”It is brilliant news. I am very happy with it,” he told Sky News.
Medals awarded
Before his announcement, Ahmadinejad awarded medals to the naval commanders who captured the sailors in the northern Gulf on March 23 and criticised Britain.
The dispute centred on where the Britons were when they were seized. Britain says they were in Iraqi waters on a routine United Nations mission. Tehran says they had strayed into its territory.
Iranian and British officials had sought to moderate their positions over the past 48 hours to find a diplomatic solution to an issue that had blown into a crisis over 13 days.
With the world’s spotlight on him, Ahmadinejad also said he was willing to consider re-establishing ties with the US if the country ”changed its behaviour”, but didn’t expand on the statement.
He again defended his country’s right to develop nuclear technology and threatened to retaliate against sanctions imposed on Iranian banks.
Iran’s official news agency said British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s adviser Nigel Sheinwald had spoken directly to Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, on Tuesday night, breaking high-level diplomatic ice.
Blair’s office said there had been direct talks with Larijani, but declined to confirm Sheinwald was involved.
Sheinwald, set to be Britain’s ambassador to Washington later this year, has been heavily involved in Blair’s drive for Middle East peace and last year became the first high-level British official to visit Syria in years. — Reuters
Additional reporting by Lin Noueihad in Dubai, and David Clarke and Jeremy Lovell in London