BERLIN (AFX) - Prime Minister Tony Blair on Sunday called Iran's seizure of 15 British naval personnel 'unjustified and wrong' as international pressure grew on Iran over the new diplomatic crisis.
British authorities said they did not know where the personnel, who were seized on Friday, were being held but Iran said the 14 men and one woman were all well.
'The quicker it is resolved, the easier it is for all. But it is quite unjustified and wrong,' Blair told reporters on the sidelines of EU 50th anniversary celebrations in Berlin.
'They were in Iraqi water, it is not true that they went into Iranian territorial waters,' he said in his first public comments since the detentions on Friday.
The eight British Royal Navy sailors and seven Royal Marines, all based on the British warship HMS Cornwall, were seized in the Gulf waterway that divides Iraq and Iran.
Britain says the group was conducting 'routine' anti-smuggling operations, but Iran said Saturday the group had admitted to illegally entering Iranian waters.
British press reports have speculated that the naval personnel could be used as bargaining chips in the mounting war of words between Tehran and the West or traded for Iranians captured in Iraq earlier this year.
The Iranian action has added to tensions caused by fresh UN sanctions ordered Saturday over Iran's nuclear programme.
But EU foreign policy Javier Solana, offering to raise the matter with top Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani, said the group's seizure was not linked to Iran's atomic programme.
'This issue must be kept separate from the nuclear negotiations,' he said.
Blair said he hoped the solution would come in 'an as easy and diplomatic way as possible,' adding: 'I hope the Iranian government understands how fundamental an issue this is for us.'
French President Jacques Chirac said Britain had the 'complete solidarity' of all EU leaders over the missing sailors.
'It seems clear that the soldiers were not in the Iranian zone at the time (of their capture),' Chirac told reporters in Berlin.
The German presidency of the EU issued a statement on Saturday calling for t newsdesk@afxnews.com afp/hjp COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2007. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News. AFX News and AFX Financial News Logo are registered trademarks of AFX News Limited