The 15 British sailors and marines seized by Iran in the Gulf said they were blindfolded, bound, kept in isolation and warned they faced up to seven years in jail.
"We were blindfolded at all times and kept in isolation from each other," Lieutenant Felix Carman said.
In an agreed statement, the military personnel said they were told that if they did not admit they had strayed into Iranian waters, they faced seven years in prison.
"We were interrogated most nights and given two options. If we admitted that we had strayed, we would be back on a plane to the UK pretty soon. If we didn't, we faced up to seven years in prison," they said.
They heard weapons being cocked behind them and feared the worst.
After their arrest in the Gulf, the sailors and marines were taken to a prison in Tehran.
"We were blindfolded, our hands were bound, we were forced up against a wall," they said in their statement.
They insisted they had been arrested in Iraqi waters and that in captivity they suffered "constant psychological pressure."
The sole woman among the group, Faye Turney, was kept isolated for several days and told by her captors that the others had been released and gone home.
The group said they were "incredibly proud" of Turney, 26, and the "highly professional" way she conducted herself throughout their 13-day detention.
"The fact that she's a woman has been used as a propaganda tool by Iran. This is deeply regrettable," they said.
The crew made a conscious decision not to engage the Iranian Revolutionary Guard who took them captive, they said.
Marine Captain Chris Air said they faced an aggressive Iranian crew.
"They rammed our boats, and trained their heavy machine guns, RPGs [rocket-propelled grenades], and weapons on us. Another six boats were closing in on us. We realized our efforts to reason with these people were not making any headway, nor were we able to calm some of the individuals," Air said.
"We realized that had we resisted there would have been a major fight, one we could not have won and with consequences [of] major strategic impacts. We made a conscious decision not to engage the Iranians and do as they asked."
The sailors and marines were released in Tehran on Thursday after a tense 13-day stand off and flown back to Britain for an emotional reunion with their families.
Britain has suspended boarding operations in the Gulf and is reviewing rules of engagement in the area's waters after their seizure, navy chief Jonathan Band said.
He said British forces were reviewing how they are handled in future amid disquiet over how easily the sailors were seized on March 23.
"As part of this ongoing review, the operational procedures and the rules of engagement that go with them will be reconsidered," he told BBC Radio.
Iran still holds the only two boats used to carry out the search operations in the area.
Iran said they had strayed into its territory but Britain said they were in Iraqi waters on a regular UN mission.
MILITARY BOOST: The procurement was planned after Washington recommended that Taiwan increase its stock of air defense missiles, a defense official said yesterday Taiwan is planning to order an additional four PAC-3 MSE systems and up to 500 missiles in response to an increasing number of missile sites on China’s east coast, a defense official said yesterday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the proposed order would be placed using the defense procurement special budget, adding that about NT$1 trillion (US$32,88 billion) has been allocated for the budget. The proposed acquisition would include launchers, missiles, and a lower tier air and missile defense radar system, they said The procurement was planned after the US military recommended that Taiwan increase
POLITICAL AGENDA: Beijing’s cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival events are part of a ‘cultural united front’ aimed at promoting unification with Taiwan, academics said Local authorities in China have been inviting Taiwanese to participate in cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations centered around ideals of “family and nation,” a move Taiwanese academics said politicizes the holiday to promote the idea of “one family” across the Taiwan Strait. Sources said that China’s Fujian Provincial Government is organizing about 20 cross-strait-themed events in cities including Quanzhou, Nanping, Sanming and Zhangzhou. In Zhangzhou, a festival scheduled for Wednesday is to showcase Minnan-language songs and budaixi (布袋戲) glove puppetry to highlight cultural similarities between Taiwan and the region. Elsewhere, Jiangsu Province is hosting more than 10 similar celebrations in Taizhou, Changzhou, Suzhou,
COGNITIVE WARFARE: Chinese fishing boats transmitting fake identification signals are meant to test Taiwan’s responses to different kinds of perceived incursions, a report said Chinese vessels are transmitting fake signals in Taiwan’s waters as a form of cognitive warfare, testing Taipei’s responses to various types of incursions, a report by the Institute for the Study of War said on Friday. Several Chinese fishing vessels transmitted fake automatic identification system (AIS) signals in Taiwan’s waters last month, with one mimicking a Russian warship and another impersonating a Chinese law enforcement vessel, the report said. Citing data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, the report said that throughout August and last month, the Chinese fishing boat Minshiyu 06718 (閩獅漁06718) sailed through the Taiwan Strait while intermittently transmitting its own AIS
CHINESE INFILTRATION: Medical logistics is a lifeline during wartime and the reported CCP links of a major logistics company present a national security threat, an expert said The government would bolster its security check system to prevent China from infiltrating the nation’s medical cold chain, a national security official said yesterday. The official, who wished to stay anonymous, made the remarks after the Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media (鏡周刊) reported that Pharma Logistics (嘉里醫藥物流) is in charge of the medical logistics of about half of the nation’s major hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The company’s parent, Kerry TJ Logistics Co (嘉里大榮物流), is associated with the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the