IRAN TO RELEASE SAILORS

Radicals and moderates fight it out, tacitly, over captured sailors

(NEWSER) - An internal squabble between Iran's radical president and more moderate officials is in evidence in the crisis over the captive British marines and sailors. President Ahmadinejad and his Revolutionary Guards are pushing for a trial. Cooler heads, including Ali Larijani, the diplomat who offered bilateral negotiations yesterday, are pushing back, writes Michael Slackman of the New York Times. More»

Co-operation called, "Bloody Shambles"

(NEWSER) - As the euphoria over the homecoming of the 15 British captives subsides, some Britons are charging that the sailors and marines went overboard in co-operating with their captors. Lt. Gen. Sir Michael Gray tells London’s Daily Mail: "In my days you would have got name, rank and serial number and that would be your lot." He called the saiilors' behavior a "bloody shambles.” More»

(NEWSER) - The fifteen British sailors captured by Iran are back in the UK. As soon as the British Airways jet touched down as Heathrow, Blair traded his measured diplomatic tone for harsher words, warning the "elements of the Iranian regime" were still arming insurgents inside Iraq." More»

Top diplomat lays out roadmap for brokering sailors' release

(NEWSER) - Iran is ready to negotiate freeing its 15 British captives, according to the country's top diplomat. In a cryptic TV interview, Ali Larijani suggested the marines and sailors could be released if the Brits apologized and stopped putting international pressure on Tehran. "We are not interested in the issue getting more complicated," he said. More»

British TV will air Christmas address from Iran's leader

(NEWSER) - Iran's ever-controversial president will deliver a Christmas address on British television tomorrow in which he will argue that if Jesus were alive today, he would "fight against the tyrannical policies of prevailing global economic and political systems, as he did in his lifetime." Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's address is billed as an alternative to the queen's annual message, the Telegraph reports. More»