TEHRAN – Iran yesterday released four Britons and one Irishman detained in the Persian Gulf after their yacht strayed into Iranian waters.
The Irishman, David Bloomer, originally from Malahide, Co Dublin, was on the Kingdom of Bahrain yacht when it was intercepted by the Iranian navy while en route from Bahrain to Dubai.
The yacht’s skipper, Oliver Smith, told reporters on arrival in Dubai that the men were treated well during their brief detention after they drifted into Iranian waters following a breakdown.
“Obviously it was a fairly tense situation the first couple of days. The longer we stayed there and they got to know us, they did relax . . . They treated us very well,” Mr Smith said. “It was a mistake to end up there . . . We had no intention of upsetting anyone,” he said.
British foreign secretary David Miliband said earlier he had received confirmation that the men were on their way to Dubai.
“I welcome the fact that this has been dealt with in a professional and straightforward way by the Iranian authorities. As I said yesterday, this is purely a consular case,” he said.
Britain had stressed that the five men, detained on November 25th, were civilians and called for their speedy release.
A senior Iranian official warned on Tuesday that Iran would take serious measures against them if it proved they had “evil intentions”.
“After getting necessary guarantees, Iran released the five,” state radio quoted the elite Revolutionary Guards as saying. “We reached the conclusion that they entered Iran’s territorial waters by mistake.”
Iran’s foreign ministry said the detention of the five men was not politically motivated. “Britain exaggerated about the detention of the five. They wanted to use this case to pressure Iran,” foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told the semi-official Mehr news agency.
Mr Miliband agreed there had been no wider significance. “It was never a political matter and I welcome the fact that they’ve dealt with it in this professional way. It shows that diplomacy can work,” he said.
Three Americans who crossed into Iran from Iraq in July are still detained and face spying charges. Their families say they were hiking and strayed across the border accidentally. – (Reuters)