Iran is considering charging the 15 British personnel it seized on Friday with illegally entering its waters, the country’s foreign minister said on Sunday.
Manouchehr Mottaki said the issue was “under consideration under the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran”. He spoke to Margaret Beckett, UK foreign secretary, later on Sunday.
Tony Blair, UK prime minister, had warned Iran earlier that its seizure was “unjustified and wrong”, insisting the sailors and marines were taken from Iraqi waters.
Speaking a day after Tehran alleged the Britons had confessed to violating Iranian territorial waters, Mr Blair told reporters at a European Union summit in Berlin that he hoped the detainees would be freed “within the next few days”.
“This is a very serious situation and there is no doubt at all these people were taken from a boat in Iraqi waters,” he said. He hoped the Iranian government understood “how fundamental an issue this is for us”.
The Iranian military said at the weekend the 15 personnel held near the Shatt al-Arab waterway dividing Iraq from Iran had committed “blatant aggression” and were being interrogated. The rhetoric in Tehran escalated, with some regime loyalists seeing a chance to use the case to help free five Iranian officials taken by US forces in northern Iraq in January.
The crisis erupted as the UN Security Council delivered a unanimous vote tightening sanctions against Iran and demanding it halt its uranium enrichment programme.
Saturday’s resolution bans arms exports by Iran and freezes the assets of more than two dozen entities and individuals, including Iran’s Bank Sepa and commanders of the Revolutionary Guards, the elite force that the UK says was responsible for capturing the British personnel.
But the Security Council also reiterated its offer to resume talks if Iran suspended uranium enrichment. Javier Solana, EU foreign policy chief, was due on Sunday to contact Ali Larijani, Iran’s top nuclear and security official, to discuss the UN decision.
Iran’s reaction was dismissive. Mr Mottaki insisted “pressure and intimidation” would not sway Iran. “Suspension is neither an option nor a solution,” he told the Security Council.
British officials on Sunday said Iran had not made any direct demands in return for the release of the seized Britons. Geoffrey Adams, the British ambassador to Iran, met Foreign Ministry officials but could not confirm the sailors had been moved to Tehran, nor was he given permission to see them.
British officials were not encouraged by the prominent role taken by the military in the case. “Our impression is that the Foreign Ministry is not the lead on this [issue],” said one.
The rhetoric from Tehran was also worrying for Britain. Khedmat, a website close to President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, said the government had “firm determination” not to hand over the 15 Britons before a trial.
