Iran threatens yachtsmen with punishment

TEHRAN, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- Five British sailors held by Iran in the Persian Gulf could face harsh punishment if they're found to have acted with "evil intentions," officials said.

The men were detained by Iranian naval vessels last week after their racing yacht, the Kingdom of Bahrain, was boarded while traveling from Bahrain to United Arab Emirates to participate in a race, The Times of London reported Tuesday.

"These are five civilians. They are yachtsmen. They were going about their sport," British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said. "It seems they may have strayed inadvertently into Iranian waters. We look forward to the Iranian government dealing with this promptly."

However, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaie, chief of staff for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, told Iran's semi-official Fars news agency the five sailors could face legal action.

"(The) judiciary will decide about the five," he said, "Naturally our measures will be hard and serious if we find out they had evil intentions."

The men's families said they were concerned that Iran may be using the detentions as a political bargaining chip in Iran's long-standing face-off with Western countries over Tehran's nuclear ambitions, The Times said.

The 60-foot yacht was sailing from Bahrain to Dubai when it was commandeered Wednesday by the Iranian patrol.