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UK continues to push for diplomatic end to crisis

Britain was examining options yesterday for new dialogue with Tehran over the seized crew of 15 sailors and marines, as a poll suggested most Britons backed the government's goal of resolving the standoff through diplomacy.

Government and defense officials refused to discuss a report that claimed a Royal Navy captain or commodore would be sent to Tehran as a special envoy to negotiate a release.

The official would deliver an assurance that British naval crews would never deliberately enter Iranian waters without permission, the Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported.

Britain's Foreign Office and Defense Ministry said they would not comment on negotiations or on options being considered.

But Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander said Britain was "exploring the potential for dialogue with the Iranians."

Officials, but not ministers, were holding a crisis committee meeting to discuss developments, the Cabinet Office said. British media reports said diplomats were increasingly pessimistic over the prospects of a swift resolution to the incident.

A defense ministry spokeswoman declined to comment on claims officials had lost optimism, saying speculation about diplomatic efforts threatened to hinder progress.

British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett appeared to soften rhetoric against Iran on Saturday -- though she stopped far short of the apology sought by many in Iran.

The Foreign Office and Prime Minister Tony Blair's office said they welcomed US President George W. Bush's intervention -- calling on Saturday for the release of the sailors and marines and labeling their capture by Tehran "inexcusable behavior."

Eight British sailors and seven marines were detained by Iranian naval units on March 23 while patrolling for smugglers near the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab, a waterway that has long been a disputed dividing line between Iraq and Iran.

A poll published in the Sunday Telegraph said that 66 percent of respondents trusted Blair and Beckett to resolve the crisis, while 28 percent did not. Only 7 percent thought the government should be preparing to use military force.

Meanwhile, in Tehran, about 100 took part in a protest in front of the British embassy that was marked by several small blasts inside the embassy compound. Britain said no damage had been done and no one was hurt in the protest.

One witness cited eight blasts saying they came from small, home-made explosive devices.

The blasts were heard as demonstrators surged towards a barrier in the middle of the road near the embassy and crossed into the lines of police. Each blast sent a small plume of smoke into the air.

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