US President George W. Bush welcomed the release of the British naval personnel but denied there was any link between the sudden granting of consular access to the five Iranians held in Iraq.
The crisis had come at a perilous time for Iran's relations with the West, with the US refusing to rule out military action over the Iranian nuclear program and the UN imposing tough new sanctions.
Ready to negotiate
Ahmadinejad also reaffirmed his oft repeated position that Iran was ready to negotiate with the US but only if Washington changes its position.
"Today we have no objection to relations [with Washington], but this requires US action," Ahmadinejad told reporters.
The US has said it will talk to Iran, but only if the Islamic republic suspends uranium enrichment, something it has hitherto vehemently refused to do.
In a separate affair, local officials denied US reports that a missing former US FBI agent had disappeared while on a private visit to Iran's southern resort island of Kish, state media reported.
The French foreign ministry also announced that a French researcher was being held against his will in Iran after police seized his passport while he was traveling in a province bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan.
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