Iran: Let The British Go

Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said here Sunday that the charge against the British sailors arrested in Iran is illegal entry into Iranian
waters and that the issue is being examined legally.

Talking to reporters at the United Nations in New York, he added that the British charge d'affaires in Tehran was summoned to the Foreign Ministry to be informed of Tehran's protest regarding the illegal entry of British forces into the Iranian territory.

"Iranian authorities detained the sailors in Iranian
waters. This issue is not unprecedented and is being examined legally," Mottaki said.

Expressing his regret over the recent resolution issued against Iran's nuclear program by the UN Security Council, Mottaki said, "There have been two options to deal with Iran's nuclear issue:
understanding or confrontation. The resolution was the wrong choice which of course will have its own consequences."

When the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) repeatedly confirmed that no deviation from peaceful path had been observed in Iran's nuclear programs, it is a wrong decision to send the case to the UN Security Council, Mottaki said.

Tehran believes that the Iranian nuclear case should be examined at the IAEA and not at the Security Council, he added.

On Tehran-Washington direct talks, he said Tehran will study the US official request in this regard, he noted.

As to the current developments in the occupied Iraq, Mottaki said several mistakes were made in Iraq. If the wrong process continues, the main objective which is Iraq's security would be forgotten, he added.

As to the abduction of Iranian officials in Iraq, he said Tehran condemns such illegal acts and believes that Washington is responsible for this illegal act. Tehran also expects the Iraqi government to fulfill its commitment and make greater efforts to release them, Mottaki added.