Iran: All 15 UK detainees confess

Story Highlights

• 15 British detainees confess to being in Iranian waters, says state-run media
• Countries agree to discuss how to avoid future disputes, UK official says
• "Confession" follows video footage of two detainees broadcast on Sunday
• Hundreds of protesters gather outside British embassy in Tehran

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TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- Fifteen British sailors and Marines detained by Iran for over a week have confessed to illegally entering the country's waters, Iranian state-run media reported on Monday.

But there were signs as well that both sides were softening their stance over the diplomatic dispute as a British official said the two countries had agreed to discuss how to avoid future disputes over contested waters in the Persian Gulf, The Associated Press reported.

Iran's state radio network said a decision not to air footage of the captured 15's video confessions had been taken "due to certain changes in the last two days in the sensational British policies," AP said.

A spokesman for British Prime Minister Tony Blair called previous confessions "stage-managed" and said Britain had not changed its demand for the sailors' unconditional release.

"The Iranians know our position, they know that stage-managed TV appearances are not going to affect our position," the spokesman said on condition of anonymity in line with government policy.

"They know we have strong international support."

On Sunday, Iran's government-run networks aired video of two of the detainees admitting to trespassing in Iranian waters on March 23. (Watch the two crew members describe their 'intrusion')

Two other British sailors appeared in similar videos last week, prompting outrage in London.

The British Foreign Office called it unacceptable for such pictures to be aired and speaking last week, Prime Minister Tony Blair accused Iran of parading and manipulating the detainees.

Britain and Iraq say the sailors and marines were well inside Iraqi waters when they were seized by the Iranians.

Britain is demanding their release and access to the detainees, who are being held at an undisclosed location inside Iran.

On Sunday, Iranian students protested the alleged trespass outside the British embassy in Tehran, demanding an apology from London. At one point, the protesters began hurling rocks and setting off firecrackers, but there were no reports of any injuries or damage. (Watch smoke billow from embassy compound )

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also stepped into the fray over the weekend, calling Britain "arrogant" for not apologizing, saying British leaders instead have issued declarations and made speeches.

The brief video clips that aired on Sunday showed two men, one at a time, standing in front of a map. The first man, who is not seen identifying himself, points to where they were "when we were seized." He says it was "apparently at this point, here, from their maps, which is inside Iranian territorial waters."

IRIB and other news agencies identified him as Capt. Chris Air.

He adds, "So far we're being treated very well by all the people here. They have looked after us and made sure that we're getting enough food, and we've been treated very well by them, so we thank them for that."

The second man, who identifies himself as Lt. Felix Carman, also explains where on the map the 15 British were taken.

He adds, "I'd like to say to the Iranian people, I can understand why you are so angry about our intrusion into your waters." The tape then freezes.

Both men are dressed in military fatigues.

As the two men spoke, there were interspersed video clips taken on the water, apparently showing the personnel on rafts they were on when seized.

The clips were shown first on the Arabic-language network Al Alam, with the Britons' sound muted and a voiceover telling what the two had allegedly said.

Then the original version including the sound of the service members was shown on a different government-run channel that broadcasts in Farsi, Iran's official language.

On Friday, British sailor Nathan Thomas Summers appeared in a video on Al Alam, saying he was "grateful no harm has come to us," and apologizing for "entering your waters without permission."

On Wednesday, Al Alam aired video showing fellow sailor Faye Turney wearing a black scarf covering her hair, "admitting" that she and her crew had gone into Iranian waters. "Obviously we trespassed into their waters," she said.

It was not known when that videotape was shot, or if Turney, 26, was being coerced to speak. (Watch Turney say what happened when she was captured )

Footage in that video also showed the other 14 British detainees eating.

Iran also released three letters it said were written by Turney, the lone woman among the 15, in which she apologizes for "entering Iranian waters." (Text of letters)

CNN cannot independently confirm whether Turney wrote the letter, and does not know the conditions under which it was written.

Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said last Wednesday that Turney would be released, but that was later suspended.

Iran has not responded to speculations that the confessions were coerced. The country says British vessels clearly entered Iranian territory six times before the crew members were detained.

The sailors and marines were arrested March 23 during anti-smuggling patrols near the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab, at the northern end of the Persian Gulf. The waterway has long been the site of tensions between Iraq and Iran, which both claim it as their territory.

-- Journalist Shirzad Bozorgmehr contributed to this report.