SMILES

After his announcement, a smiling Ahmadinejad met several of the sailors and marines, dressed in smart suits, shaking hands with them and exchanging a few words through an interpreter.
 

Video grab shows Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaking to Britons who had been detained in Iran at a ceremony to mark their release, April 4, 2007. The 15 British naval personnel will leave the country from Tehran airport on Thursday, an official Iranian source said. [Reuters]

"We are very grateful for your forgiveness," one of the sailors told Ahmadinejad. "I would like to thank yourself and the Iranian people."

U.S. President George W. Bush welcomed the news, as did European Union president Germany.

In Britain, relatives of the 15 expressed their joy. "It is brilliant news. I am very happy with it," Nick Summers, brother of Nathan Summers, one of the captives, told Sky News.

British newspapers also welcomed the end of the standoff but questioned how it came about.

"They're coming home," read the headline in the Daily Telegraph, adding: "But was a secret deal struck to secure the release of 15 British prisoners?"

The Daily Mirror carried the headline "Freedom!" but said: "Now the questions: Were they in Iranian waters? What deals were done? And has this been a diplomatic triumph for Blair or a humiliation for Britain?"

Before making his announcement, Ahmadinejad awarded a medal to the naval commander who captured the 15 and criticised Britain, making it look as if he might not free the Britons.

Iranian and British officials had negotiated to find a diplomatic solution to a standoff that had added to international tension over Iran's disputed nuclear programme, the subject of U.N. Security Council sanctions.

Ahmadinejad said he was willing to consider re-establishing ties with the United States if that country "changed its behaviour", but did not expand on his remark.

He defended Iran's right to develop nuclear technology and threatened to retaliate for sanctions imposed on Iranian banks.

The United States, which has accused Tehran of having a secret programme to build atomic weapons, said if Iran wanted to change relations with Washington it would have to halt uranium enrichment. Iran says its programme is only for electricity.

The Shatt al-Arab waterway, where British and Iranian naval vessels operate daily, remains an area of potential conflict because the border between Iran and Iraq is poorly defined.

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