Freed British crew flies home

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.

The British crew sat in business class on the flight. British ambassador to Iran Geoffrey Adams, who was at the airport, declined to comment.

Before boarding, the sailors received gifts given to them on Ahmadinejad’s behalf, Iran’s state-run news agency, IRNA, reported.

The 15, whose release from nearly two weeks in Iranian captivity was announced by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad yesterday, arrived at the airport in a convoy of cars that drove directly to the presidential VIP section of the airport.

The convoy was escorted by several cars belonging to the elite Revolutionary Guards.