Iran's Deputy Commander in Chief of Armed Forces General Staff by confirming arrest of 15 British sailors by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) naval forces in Iran's territorial waters on Friday March 23, 2007, said the sailors were under interrogation and have confessed of violating Iranian territorial waters.

According to Armed Forces Media Department report on Saturday, General Ali-Reza Afshar said," the arrest shows our forces' readiness to defend the country at all times."

Deputy in Cultural Affairs and Defence Advertisement said repeated threats of enemies have caused promotion and growth of country's defence abilities, adding the US and its allies know if they make a mistake in their calculations over the issue of invasion of Iran, they would not be able to control the dimensions of that miscalculation.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini had already condemned illegal entrance of British forces into Iran's territorial waters and called it a suspicious act and against international law and regulations.

15 British sailors were arrested on Friday morning by Iran's naval force in Iran's territorial waters in the Persian Gulf.  They were arrested in Arvandroud area in the northern coast of the Persian Gulf.

© 2007 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)