Free UK sailors, demands Iraq minister

Iraq's foreign minister has demanded that Iran release 15 British sailors and marines, saying they had been detained in Iraqi waters and were operating with government consent.

Hoshyar Zebari discussed the issue with his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki yesterday and pointed out that Iraqi authorities believed the British troops were captured in Iraqi territorial waters and were operating with consent of US-led coalition forces and the Iraqi government in line with UN resolutions, according to a statement.

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"He called for their release and for addressing their issue legally and wisely," the statement said.

The capture and detention of the British service personnel increased tensions between Iran and the West that already were high over Tehran's nuclear programme and allegations that Iran is interfering with the US-led war in Iraq.

The Iraqi government called on both sides to keep the dispute from spilling over its border after the US detained five Iranians in January in northern Iraq, accusing them of being part of an Iranian Revolutionary Guard force that provides funds, weapons and training to Shiite militias in Iraq. Tehran had insisted that the five detained Iranians were engaged exclusively in consular work.

Iran warned that the 15 British sailors and marines could face charges for allegedly entering Iranian waters and rejected British requests to meet with the servicemen detained off the coast of Iraq.

Mottaki threatened unspecified consequences for the Royal Navy crew in comments to reporters in New York on Sunday. He described the charge against them as "illegal entrance into Iranian waters."

"In terms of legal issues, it's under investigation," Mottaki said.

Britain and the United States have said the troops were intercepted on Friday just after they completed a search of a civilian vessel in the Iraqi part of the Shatt al-Arab waterway, where the border with Iran has historically been disputed.

Prime Minister Tony Blair on Sunday called the detentions "unjustified and wrong," and insisted during a European Union meeting that Royal Navy crew was in Iraqi waters.