Eight British Royal Navy sailors held by Iran for illegal entry into Iranian waters arrived in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) early today to fly onward to Kuwait.
All eight arrived in Dubai in the UAE on a scheduled Emirates airline flight, stopping briefly to catch a connecting Emirates flight to Kuwait, said an embassy spokeswoman. "They were a bit tired, but otherwise fine," she said.
The six Royal Marines and two sailors were taken to the British Embassy in Tehran yesterday after spending three days in Iranian custody, ending a diplomatic crisis sparked by their illegal entry earlier this week into Iranian waters along the Iran-Iraq border.
The troops were detained on Monday after their boats apparently strayed on to the Iranian side of the Shatt al Arab waterway, or Arvand River, that runs along the Iran-Iraq border while delivering a patrol boat to Iraq's new river police.
Iranian foreign minister Mr Kamal Kharrazi said Iran will also release the three British boats and the troops' equipment, state television reported.
Iran had initially said it would prosecute the servicemen for illegally entering Iranian waters. British concern mounted after Iranian television showed the eight blindfolded and sitting cross-legged on the ground.
The Ministry of Defence said the personnel were from the Royal Navy training team based in southern Iraq and were delivering a boat from Umm Qasr to Basra in Iraq.