15 British sailors and marines, who were taken in custody by Iranian forces Friday at the bordering area between Iran and Iraq, have been moved to Iran's capital of Tehran for further investigations, local Fars news agency reported Saturday.

"The British sailors and marines who were detained for illegal entry of Iranian territorial waters and failing to respect international frontiers, have been transferred to Tehran on Saturday to explain their behaviors," said the report, but without immediate official confirmation.

"Iranian border guards fulfilled their responsibilities, because navigational equipment on the seized British boats shows the sailors were aware that they were operating in Iranian waters, " the report added.

A woman was among the detainees, the report said.

The British Ministry of Defense (MoD) said earlier Friday that 15 British naval personnel were seized by Iranian forces.

In a statement, the MoD said the incident took place at approximately 10:30 Iraqi time (0730 GMT) Friday when the British soldiers were engaged in routine boarding operations of merchant shipping in Iraqi territorial waters in support of UN Security Council Resolution 1723 and the government of Iraq.

"The British Government is demanding the immediate and safe return of our people and equipment," the MoD said.

However, Iranian foreign ministry tit for tat has condemned this incident, accusing British soldiers of deliberately and suspiciously entering Iran's water.

Iran also summoned British charge d'affaires Kate Smith to the foreign ministry to receive the firm protest for the action.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini on Saturday condemned the incident, describing the incident as an "interventionist, blatant aggression and suspicious move" against Iran's sovereignty.

"This is an illegal and interventionist entry into Iranian territorial waters, it's a suspicious move and contrary to international rules and regulations," he was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency.

"Violating the sovereign boundaries of other states and illegal entry denote unusual goals in violation of international commitments, the responsibility for which cannot be evaded under any justification," he added.

Hosseini also accused the British side of trying to cover up their "illegal entry", saying British officials instead of making up for their blunders should try to refrain from putting the blame on others by way of "irrelevant interpretations".

Source: Xinhua