Brits: We were forced into Iran waters

LONDON, July 1 (UPI) -- Eight British sailors seized by Iran last week say they were forced to enter Iranian territorial waters, British Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon said.

But the Iranian Foreign Ministry denied the claim, saying the British servicemen were apprehended inside Iran territory and their allegations are "totally untrue."

Hoon said his ministry is looking into the sailors' claims.

In a written Commons statement Hoon said: "The crews have said they were operating inside the Iraqi border and were forcibly escorted into Iranian territorial waters."

The six Royal Marines and two Royal Navy sailors were captured after their patrol boats were said to have strayed by mistake into the Iranian side of the Shatt al Arab waterway adjoining Iraq.

The incident sparked a tense three-day stand-off.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asafi said the allegations are "baseless."

"The British Charge d'Affaires in Tehran acknowledged when he was handed over the sailors and in front of Iranian officials that the British boats entered Iranian territorial waters by mistake and he apologized for that," Asafi said.