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UK receives confirmation about imminent release of servicemen

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

London, June 23, IRNA -- The British Foreign Office verified Wednesday
that it was expecting the imminent release of eight servicemen 
detained by Iran for illegally entering its waters earlier this week. 
"The Iranian government has confirmed to us that the sailors will 
be released today," a Foreign Office spokesman told IRNA. He said 
there was no indication of exactly when it would happen. 
He said that the Foreign Office was awaiting news of the release 
and was not prepared to make any further comments until it had 
confirmation. 
The release came after Foreign Secretary Jack Straw made an appeal
to his Iranian counterpart for him to personally look into the 
incident, which the British media said threatened to escalate into a 
diplomatic crisis. 
On Tuesday, the Foreign Office spokesman admitted that the eight 
marines and sailors had entered Iranian waters on Monday, but insisted
that it was `a mistake` and that the UK respected Iran`s territorial 
rights. 
He said that he had no information about the logistics of the 
release, but according to the BBC, the servicemen were expected to be 
handed into the custody of British embassy officials later on 
Wednesday. 
The Daily Telegraph suggested that the incident was reminiscent of
an incident in 1976, when eight SAS soldiers were arrested after 
straying across the border with the Irish Republic. 
Although the soldiers were released on bail after agreeing to 
stand trial at the Special Criminal Court in Dublin, they were 
subsequently convicted of illegally possessing firearms 10 months 
later. 
HC/2322/1432