Britain said on Wednesday it welcomed the announcement by Iran's president that the 15 detained British navy personnel would be released.

"We welcome what the president has said about the release of our 15 personnel. We are now establishing exactly what this means in terms of the method and timing of their release," said a spokeswoman in Prime Minister Tony Blair's office.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in his news conference on Wednesday that the 15 British sailors captured on March 23 have been pardoned and will be freed as a "gift" to Britain after his address, the Pan-Arabic pan-Arab satellite television TV reported live.

Source: Xinhua