Britons speak out about captivity in Iran

‘They appear to have played it by the rules’
Band told British Broadcasting Corp. radio that the crew had “acted with considerable dignity and a lot of courage.”

“They appear to have played it by the rules, they don’t appear to have put themselves into danger, others into danger, they don’t appear to have given anything away,” he said. “I think, in the end, they were a credit to us.”

Britain insisted the crew was on a routine operation when seized—but Sky News reported Thursday that Air said in an interview days before his capture that his crew was gathering intelligence on Iran during their patrols. Sky said it held the interview because it thought it could hamper the crew’s release.

Defense ministry officials denied the sailors and marines had an intelligence role, but said they routinely spoke to commanders of vessels using the Persian Gulf and Shatt Al-Arab waterway to determine who was using shipping routes.

Success of diplomacy
Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced Wednesday that the Britons would be released—a breakthrough in a crisis that had raised oil prices and escalated fears of military conflict in the volatile region. The move suggested Iran’s hard-line leadership had decided it had shown its strength but did not want to push the standoff too far.

But Iran did not get the main thing it sought—a public apology for entering Iranian waters. Britain insists it never offered a deal, instead relying on quiet and sometimes silent diplomacy.

A senior British government official said the mix of international support and diplomatic ties—however rocky—succeeded.

Countries ranging from Syria to Colombia pressed Iran for the release of the crew, whose capture began at the start of Iranian new year celebrations.

“By the time the senior Iranian leaders were getting back from their holiday, they were finding that their phone was ringing off the hook and they were finding that an awful lot of countries—including some quarters they weren’t expecting—were ringing them and saying they were in the wrong place and they should be releasing the people quickly,” the official said, on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

Phone conversations between Ali Larijani, Iran’s chief international negotiator, and Blair’s chief foreign affairs adviser, Nigel Sheinwald, are believed to have cleared the way to the crew’s release and an end to the crisis.

MORE FROM MIDEAST & N. AFRICA

Mideast & N. Africa Section Front

Mideast clock confusion ahead of Ramadan Israeli peace pioneer Nathan dies at 81 Israeli police fear missing child murdered GM receives Gulf Arab interest in Hummer Mideast & N. Africa Section Front   Add Mideast & N. Africa headlines to your news reader: