PJoe...I support soldiers from Canada,GB and US,I would NEVER EVER put any of these soldiers down like you just did,READ this article and see what you think.
The men appeared at the press conference in Devon, England and were welcomed with applause.
"It's great to see all our families and we're just overjoyed to be back," said Lt. Felix Carman, of the British Royal Navy.
Carman explained that the crew was seized while on a mission that "was meant to be a routine boarding operation which followed 66 similar boarding operations in the previous four weeks."
"We approached an unidentified merchant vessel... we carried out completely compliant boarding... (that was) in complete accordance with our UN mandate," said Carman.
"Let me make it absolutely clear, irrespective of what was said in the past, when we were detained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard we were inside internationally recognized Iraqi territorial waters and I can clearly state that we were 1.7 nautical miles from Iranian waters."
Iran claims the personnel had illegally crossed into Iranian waters.
Cpt. Chris Air of the British Royal Marines said during the boarding operation that two Iranian speed boats approached.
"When we tried to leave they prevented us by blocking us in, by now it was becoming increasingly clear they arrived with a planned intent," said Air. "Some of the Iranian sailors were becoming deliberately aggressive and unstable... we realized that our efforts to reason with these people were not making any headway.
"It was at this point that we realized that had we resisted there would have been a major fight -- one which we could not have won -- and with consequences that would have major strategic impacts."
Air said the crew made a conscious decision to surrender.
While in custody, the crew confirmed that they were blindfolded, bound and placed in isolation.
They also said that they suffered "constant psychological pressure" at the hands of the Iranians.
"We were interrogated most nights and given two options. If we admitted that we had strayed, we would be back on a plane to the U.K. pretty soon. If we didn't, we faced up to seven years in prison," they said in their statement.
The only female of the crew, Faye Turney, --who was shown apologizing on Iranian television -- believed she was alone, said Air.
"She was under the impression for about four days that she was the only one there," he said. "She coped admirably and has maintained a lot of dignity."
Return from Iran
The Royal Navy crew, which included one female, arrived back on British soil Thursday after 13 days in Iranian custody.
On Wednesday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made the surprise announcement that the personnel would be released as an Easter gift to the U.K.
He said Iran was well within its rights to press criminal charges against the sailors and launch legal proceedings, but had decided not to do so.
Instead he ordered them to return home and celebrate Easter, as well as the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad on April 30.
After the announcement, many of the crew members were shown greeting Ahmadinejad and apologizing for their actions.
"Your people have been really kind to us, and we appreciate it very much," one of the men told him in English.
Another male service member said: "We are grateful for your forgiveness."
Ahmadinejad responded by saying: "You are welcome."
Three of the crew members were later interviewed on Iranian state TV. They apologized for the alleged incursion into Iran's waters and again thanked Ahmadinejad.
Several of the sailors also apologized during videotaped statements that were aired while they were still held captive.
On Friday, the captives confirmed that the confessions were false and calculated.