( P ) - Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini on Wednesday confirmed that Tehran would soon release the only female among the 15 captured British sailors and marines.
The female sailor will be released and Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has announced the release would occur Wednesday or Thursday, Hosseini was quoted as saying by IRNA.
Mottaki, who was on the sidelines of an Arab summit in Saudi Arabia, told media Wednesday that his country would soon release the detained British servicewoman.
Fifteen British naval personnel were seized last Friday by Iranian forces when they were patrolling off the Iraqi borders.
Iran has insisted that the British boats made a blatant " incursion" into Iranian territorial waters, and its state television said it would soon broadcast a video footage of the detained sailors.
However, the British authorities said that the incident took place when the British soldiers were engaged in routine boarding operations in Iraqi territorial waters in support of UN Security Council Resolution 1723 and the Iraqi government.
British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett has said earlier Wednesday Britain would freeze all bilateral talks with Iran until Tehran releases 15 captured British soldiers.