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No signs of swift release

Iran showed no sign yesterday of readying a swift release of 15 British troops detained while patrolling off Iraq, saying they strayed into its territorial waters in a violation of its sovereignty.

Britain has demanded the immediate safe return of the 15 sailors and marines its says were seized in Iraqi territorial waters while conducting "routine" anti-smuggling operations.

But the Iranian foreign ministry angrily dismissed the British demands, insisting that the naval patrol was "suspect" and "illegal."

"Iran firmly condemns the illegal entry by British forces into the territorial waters of the Islamic republic which constitutes a suspect action contrary to international rules," spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told the ISNA news agency.

Hosseini said London would "not be allowed to escape its responsibilities on any pretext" after what he called a "violation of our sovereignty."

Iran summoned Britain's top diplomat in Tehran on Friday to protest what it said was the illegal entry of the British sailors into its waters.

"This makes a number of times that British sailors have illegally entered Iranian territorial waters at Arvand Roud," a foreign ministry statement, said using the Persian name for the Shatt al-Arab waterway that separates Iran from Iraq.

Britain in turn summoned the Iranian ambassador in London on Friday for what British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett described as "brisk but polite" talks.

"We have sought a full explanation of what happened and we are leaving them in no doubt that we want the immediate and safe return of our personnel and their equipment," she said.

The British defense ministry said the 15 sailors and marines based on HMS Cornwall in the Gulf had finished inspecting a merchant ship when they and their two boats were surrounded and escorted by Iranian vessels into Iranian waters.

Although it is not the first time British forces personnel have been seized by Iran in the waterway, the incident came as the UN Security Council prepared to adopt new sanctions against Tehran over its controversial nuclear program.

British newspapers expressed fears the sailors might be used as a bargaining chip in the mounting war of words between Iran and the US which has been spearheading the UN enforcement action.

"There is now what looks like a hostage crisis," wrote the Guardian. "These anti-smuggling patrols are relatively uncontentious, but they represent an opportunity for Iran to grasp. The source of a dispute matters less than the leverage Tehran thinks it can extract from it."

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