Britons need not be tried, Iranian official says

Iran’s top security official said Monday that a trial wouldn’t be necessary to decide the fate of 15 British sailors and marines detained by Iranian forces in the Persian Gulf, the most promising signal so far of an imminent end to the crisis.

Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, told a reporter on Britain’s Channel 4 that the issue could be resolved quickly if Britain would stop seeking condemnations from international bodies and stop using what he called “the language of force.”

Larijani, believed to be a confidant of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s ultimate political, military and religious authority, appeared to rule out a trial.

“Definitely, our priority would not be a trial,” he said from Tehran. “Our priority is to solve the problem through diplomatic channels.”

Larijani said he also asked the British to promise not to enter waters Iran claims as its territory.

Britain’s Foreign Office said it was “still studying” Larijani’s remarks.

“There remain some differences between us,” a Foreign Office spokeswoman said, speaking on condition of anonymity, as is customary. “But we can confirm we share his preference for early bilateral discussions to find a diplomatic solution to this problem. We will be following up with the Iranian authorities [today], given our shared desire to make early progress.”

London says the 14 men and one woman were in Iraqi waters when they were arrested March 23, shortly after they had inspected a merchant ship. The incident took place near the long-disputed Shatt al Arab waterway, known to Iranians as the Arvand River.

State-controlled television also said Monday that it would suspend broadcasting footage of the British detainees because the government here had detected a change in “stance” by London. The footage, in which the captives have said they crossed into Iranian territory, has angered Britain. It was not known whether the statements were made voluntarily.

The television station, which aired new footage of the 15 military personnel, did not provide further details.

“It seems that Britain has shifted a little bit from its stance in the last one or two days over the undeniable facts and from some of its clamor,” said the announcer, according to a Reuters translation. “If this path continues, one can hope that the issue would be resolved in a bilateral process and far away from fuss and clamor and with achieving Iran’s logical demands.”

British officials in Tehran and London have been meeting discreetly with their Iranian counterparts in hopes of ending the standoff.

State-run radio said all 15 captives had confessed to entering Iranian waters.

The videotaped statements, aired almost daily, appear to violate international conventions that bar public humiliation of detainees.

Larijani sidestepped a question about whether showing the images was appropriate. He said they were a reaction to British bullying. “We were not trying to solve any problem by having this confession broadcast,” he said. “We just wanted to show a reaction by the assertion of the opposite side. If they had not behaved irrationally, we would not have shown it on TV.”

The modest breakthrough in the crisis comes as a major two-week Iranian holiday draws to an end. Shuttered newspapers, banks and government offices reopen today.

Larijani is a rival to hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The two were opponents in the 2005 presidential election.

Larijani said British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s government jumped to conclusions regarding the border incident.

“It was interesting for me that prior to knowing whether it was territorial waters or not there were people who started to condemn Iran without knowing the facts,” he said.

Larijani said Iran was “100%” sure the sailors were in Iranian waters. “If a military force violated your border, your territorial waters, would you give them chocolate in return?” he said. “Or would you arrest them? This is exactly what we are asking them.”

*

daragahi@latimes.com

Daragahi is a Times staff writer and Mostaghim a special correspondent. Times staff writer Kim Murphy in London contributed to this report.