NCRI – Iranian regime’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad staged a press conference to pin medals on Iranian Revolutionary Guards commanders who had detained 15 Britons almost two weeks ago and offered to free them as a "gift" to the British.
"I ask Mr. Blair not to punish the soldiers with the charge of accepting and telling the truth," he said in reference to taped "confessions" from the sailors and marines saying they had entered Iranian waters.
The announcement came amid intense diplomatic contacts between Iran and Britain over an issue that had increased tensions throughout the region.
Prime Minister Tony Blair reacted angrily, particularly when Iranian television aired videotape of some of the captives "confessing" under duress that they had been operating in Iranian waters. Blair insisted that the 15 were captured in Iraqi waters after carrying out an inspection of a suspected smuggling ship under a U.N. mandate.
US President Bush issued sharp remarks referring to the 15 as "hostages," and the U.S. military announced that a second aircraft carrier was heading toward the Persian Gulf, although no formal connection was made to the affair.
Ahmadinejad at a press conference again defended his country’s right to develop nuclear technology and threatened to retaliate against sanctions imposed on Iranian banks.
