British Prime Minister Blair. 'Door is open'
Photo: AP
One of British soldiers on Iranian TV
Photo: AFP
Iranian President Ahmadinejad
Photo: Reuters
Blair: Next 2 days critical to resolving dispute over seized crew
British prime minister says Iran chief negotiator's suggestion of talks offers hope of end to crisis, but if negotiations to win quick release of 15 sailors and marines stall, UK will 'take an increasingly tougher position'
The next two days are crucial to resolving the dispute over a navy crew held by Iran,
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Tuesday, after Iran's chief international negotiator offered a new approach
to end the standoff with Tehran.
"The next 48 hours will be fairly critical," Blair told Scotland's Real Radio. He said Ali Larijani's suggestion of talks offered the hope of an end to the crisis. "If they want to resolve this in a diplomatic way the door is open," the premier said.
Report:
News agencies
Failed American attempt to kidnap two senior Iranian security officers on official visit to northern Iraq was starting pistol for crisis that 10 weeks later led to Iranians seizing 15 British sailors and Marines, Independent reports
But if negotiations to win the quick release of the 15 sailors and marines stalled, Britain would "take an increasingly tougher position," he said.
Larijani said Monday that Iran sought "to solve the problem through proper diplomatic channels" and proposed having a delegation determine whether British forces had strayed into Iranian territory in the Persian Gulf. He did not say what sort of delegation he had in mind.
Blair told reporters in Scotland he hoped the Iranian government realized "the best way to deal with this is in a diplomatic way, in order to get those people released."
Britain had two options in its approaches with Tehran, Blair said, "One is to try settle this by way of peaceful and calm negotiation to get our people back as quickly as possible."
"The other is to make it clear that if that is not possible that we have to take an increasingly tougher position," Blair said.
Larijani told Britain's Channel 4 news Monday through an interpreter that Iranian officials "definitely believe that this issue can be resolved and there is no need for any trial."
Britain's Foreign Office said it would seek to follow up on the remarks Tuesday, but could not immediately confirm when discussions would likely take place.
"Talks have been going on throughout this situation, they will continue to carry on," a Foreign Office spokeswoman said on condition of anonymity in line with government rules.
'UK wants unconditional release'
The 15 British sailors and marines were captured by Iranian forces in the Persian Gulf on March 23. They were detained while patrolling for smugglers near the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab, a waterway that has long been a disputed dividing line between Iraq and Iran.Tehran says the crew was in Iranian waters. Britain insists its troops were in Iraqi waters working under a UN mandate.
In a letter sent Saturday in response to a note from Iranian officials, Britain agreed to consider discussing how to avoid such situations in the future, a British official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations.
But Britain is not "negotiating" with Iran and it wants the release of the navy crew to be unconditional, the official said.
Larijani said Britain should give "a guarantee ... that such violation will not be repeated," but stopped short of calling for an apology.
He said the delegation could be sent "to review the case, to clarify the case, first of all - to clarify whether they have been in our territorial waters at all."
The Foreign Office and defense officials refused to comment on British media reports Sunday that a senior naval officer would be sent to Tehran as an envoy to discuss preventing disputes over contested waters in the Gulf.
Video footage has shown four of the British crew saying they were captured in Iranian waters and Tehran has claimed all have confessed to illegally entering Iranian territory.
