Britain has suspended boarding operations in the Gulf and is reviewing rules of engagement in the area's waters after Iran seized 15 British sailors and marines, Navy Chief Jonathon Band said today.
He said the 15, released in Tehran yesterday and flown back to Britain for an emotional reunion with their families, were under psychological pressure when apparently confessing in letters and appearances on Iranian television.
Defending the conduct of the sailors, several of whom are due to give a news conference at a military base where they are being debriefed in southwest England, Band said: "I stand by what they did."
He said Britain had halted boarding operations in the Gulf and was reviewing how they are handled in future amid disquiet over how easily the sailors were seized on March 23rd.
"As part of this ongoing review, the operational procedures and the rules of engagement that go with them will be reconsidered," he told BBC Radio.
Iran still holds the only two boats used to carry out the search operations in the area. Iran said they had strayed into its territory but Britain said they were in Iraqi waters on a regular U.N. mission.
The peaceful end to the stand-off with the world's fourth largest oil exporter prompted a drop in oil prices.
But Britain's relief at the sailor's safe return was tempered by bad news from Iraq where four British soldiers were killed by the sort of roadside explosive device which London has in the past said were being smuggled over the border from Iran.