Fifteen British sailors and marines released by Iran after nearly two weeks in captivity have flown out of a Tehran airport today aboard a commercial flight bound for London.

Iraq’s foreign minister welcomed the release today of 15 British sailors and marines but said the decision was not the result of a deal to release five Iranians detained by the US in Iraq.

The release of the 15 captured British personnel will come as a "profound relief" to their families, Prime Minister Tony Blair said today.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair's office said it "welcomed" today's announcement that the Iranian government would release the 15 detained British sailors and marines.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad today announced that his government would release the detained 15 British sailors and marines as a gift to the British people.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said Iran will free the 15 detained British sailors as a 'gift' to Britain.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad today gave medals of honour to the Iranian coastguards who intercepted 15 British sailors and marines in the Gulf.

Channel 4 has decided to postpone the controversial drama 'The Mark of Cain' about British soldiers in Iraq while negotiations to release the 15 service personnel captured by the Iranians are ongoing, it has announced.

Syria says it is mediating in Britain’s dispute with Iran over 15 detained sailors and marines, news reports said today

The sudden release of an Iranian diplomat missing for two months in Iraq raised new hope today that 15 British sailors and marines seized by Iran may soon be freed.

US President George Bush today said Iran’s seizure of British sailors is indefensible and that he supported the British government’s attempts to solve the matter peacefully.

The Iranian news agency Fars issued a new picture of British sailors detained by Iran today, an apparent breach of the understanding that no more such photographs would be published.

Oil prices dropped today as tensions in the Britain-Iran stand-off eased.

Iran and Britain have signalled possible movement toward ending the stand-off over 15 detained British sailors and Marines.

Iran said tonight it hoped to resolve the seized British Navy personnel crisis using diplomacy and without putting the captives on trial.

Iran's state-run radio today cited what it called "positive changes" in Britain's negotiating stance, and said because of those, television stations would not broadcast any additional videos of British sailors' confessions.

French presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy expressed his solidarity with Britain today over its sailors detained by Iran.

Two of the 15 captured British sailors pointed to a map of the Persian Gulf and identified where they had been arrested 10 days ago on video clips aired by Iranian state-run television channels.

Iran’s official Arabic-language television channel today aired short video clips of what it said were two of the 15 captured British sailors who in the footage pointed to a map of the Persian Gulf.

About 200 students staged a violent protest outside the British Embassy in Tehran on today, throwing rocks and firecrackers.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel today called on Iran to immediately release 15 British sailors and marines seized in the Gulf.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad insisted today that 15 captured British sailors trespassed in Iranian waters and called world powers “arrogant” for failing to apologise, the country’s official news agency reported.

Britain’s Foreign Secretary today urged Iran to “peacefully” resolve the crisis over its capture of 15 British military personnel, and said London remains open to dialogue.

The 15 British sailors and Royal Marines held by Iran could be tried for violating international law, Iran’s ambassador to Russia said today.

Australia has told Iran that taking 15 British sailors and marines hostage could become “increasingly serious” if they were not released immediately, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said today.

The European Union has demanded that Iran immediately and unconditionally release 15 British sailors and marines and warned of undefined “appropriate measures” if Tehran does not comply.

British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said a letter from Iran on the detention of 15 British sailors and marines had done nothing to bring the stand-off over their capture to a close.

A British military serviceman appeared on Iran’s official Arabic-language TV today and apologised for entering Iranian waters “without permission”.

An alleged ’confession’ by one of 15 British sailors and Marines held captive in Iran is to be broadcast on an Arabic-language TV channel today.

Iran is willing to reconsider the possible release of British sailor Faye Turney being held captive with 14 other British sailors and marines, the Turkish prime minister’s spokesman said today.

The reported release comes hours after Iranian state television broadcast a few seconds of footage it claimed was of the operation that seized 15 British soldiers in Iranian territorial waters last week.

Iran today rolled back on a pledge to soon free a British woman sailor, delaying her release because of Britain’s threat to freeze relations and refer the issue to the UN Security Council.

Iran’s consul in Iraq has accused British soldiers of surrounding his Basra office and firing shots into the air.

Iran may delay the release of British sailor Faye Turney if Britain takes the issue to the UN Security Council or freezes relations, according to negotiator Ali Larijani.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon has held talks with Iran’s foreign minister over the detention of 15 British sailors and Marines.

Iran’s foreign minister said Britain must admit that its 15 sailors and marines entered Iranian waters in order to resolve a standoff over their capture.

Iran’s state television quoted an unnamed Iranian official today as saying the first, technical phase of an investigation into the detentions of 15 British sailors was complete.

Iranian state TV today said it would broadcast footage showing 15 captured British sailors and marines who have been in Iranian custody since last week.

A British servicewoman held captive by Iran may be released later on Wednesday or on Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told Turkey’s CNN-Turk television.

The 15 British service personnel captured by Iran were well within Iraqi territorial waters when they were seized, the UK's Ministry of Defence said today.

Turkish diplomats may be allowed to meet with the 15 British service personnel who were seized by Iran, a Turkish television station reported today.

The Foreign Affairs Committee in the US House of Representatives is demanding that Iran release 15 British service personnel captured last week in contested Persian Gulf waters.

Iraq’s foreign minister has demanded that Iran release 15 British sailors and marines, saying they had been detained in Iraqi waters and were operating with government consent.

British sailors seized today in Iraqi territorial waters were taken by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards navy, a radical force that operates independently from the regular Iranian Navy, a US official said.