The diplomatic tension between London and Tehran on Thursday intensified after the latter denied British accusations that eight servicemen had been forced into its waters.
Iran's foreign office said Britain's charge d'affaires in Tehran "had confirmed the unauthorised and unintentional straying of the boats to Iranian waters".
Eight British servicemen had been held for three days last week after they, and their boats, were taken by Iranian Revolutionary Guards.
On their release, a Ministry of Defense statement said they had been "forcibly escorted" into Iranian territory. Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon said he was looking into the claims.
However, the crucial evidence lies in the crew's navigation equipment - which has not yet been returned by the Iranians.
In a written statement, Hoon said: "The crews have said they were operating inside the Iraqi border and were forcibly escorted into Iranian territorial waters.
"Our assessment continues and will be greatly assisted by the retrieval of navigational information in the Global Positioning System equipment carried by the crews.
"We are very concerned about the blindfolding of the men and have made representations to the government of Iran.
"We have made it clear that we do not expect a recurrence of this incident." (Albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
