British diplomats are still waiting for official confirmation that eight Royal Navy personnel seized by the Iranians on the country’s border with Iraq are to be released.

Media reports from the Middle East indicate that the Servicemen will be released shortly, following intensive talks between senior politicians and diplomats in both the UK and Iran.

The eight men are part of a Royal Navy Training Team (RNTT) based in southern Iraq, and at the time of their detention were delivering a boat from the port of Umm Qasr to the city of Basra.

The boats were unarmed, though the men were carrying their personal weapons.

The eight were travelling in three boats, two Boston whalers and a British Army combat support boat, along the Shatt al Arab waterway on Monday when they were stopped by Iranian authorities who claimed that they were in Iranian territorial waters.

A spokesman from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office stated yesterday (Tuesday June 22) that the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, had spoken that morning to the Foreign Minister of Iran, Kamal Kharazzi, to ask for the release of the men.

“The Iranian Ambassador, Morteza Sarmadi, was asked this [Tuesday] morning to a meeting at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to discuss the eight British Naval personnel being held in Iran,” said the spokesman.

“Mr Sarmadi saw a senior official. The Ambassador was asked to explain why the eight are being held, for their release as soon as possible and for full consular access to them meanwhile.

“He was asked for information on the reports that they will be prosecuted and told they were on a routine mission.

“Our Ambassador in Tehran, Richard Dalton, has made the same points to the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

The border between Iraq and Iran runs along the Shatt al Arab waterway, and for many years has been a source of bitter disputes between the neighbouring countries.

The RNTT was formed in July 2003, originally to assist in the formation of the Basra River Police.

But the original complement of six has now grown to 31 Royal Navy and Royal Marines personnel who are mentoring the fledgling Iraqi Riverine Patrol Service (IRPS) which operates along 380km of internal waterways.

The RNTT supervises all training, and delivers specialist training in areas such as riverine warfare and boarding and searching vessels, with the aim of putting the IRPS in a position to combat smugglers and potential terrorists.