Iran releases 5 British sailors detained at sea

Iran has released five British sailors detained after their racing yacht was stopped in the Persian Gulf after entering Iranian waters last week.

The official IRNA news agency says the yachtsmen were let go after an interrogation by Iranian authorities found that their entry into Iranian waters had been a mistake.

The report said the British were released early Wednesday.

The British Foreign Office later said that the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs had confirmed the report. A Foreign Office spokesman said in a brief statement that the yachtsmen were being towed to international waters.

A spokeswoman for Sail Bahrain said they were to be met by a representative of the company, who will then tow them to Dubai.

Iran had warned on Tuesday the sailors would be prosecuted if it was proven they had "bad intentions" when their 60-foot racing yacht entered Iranian waters.

Britain said it was an innocent case of a vessel accidentally going astray in the Persian Gulf.