Ahmadinejad
The 15 British troops, who were arrested by Iran's border guards on March 23rd for illegal entry into Iranian waters, appreciated Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for pardoning them.
"On behalf of my friends and myself, I appreciate you and I thank the Iranian people for their hospitality," one of the 15 British troops told Ahmadinejad during a ceremony held here in Tehran on Wednesday.
Other British troops also thanked the Iranian president who told the 15 that they have been pardoned on the occasion of the birthday anniversary of the prophet of Islam (PBUH).
Meantime, an informed source told FNA that when the 15 heard Ahmadinejad saying during an earlier press conference here on Wednesday afternoon that Iran has pardoned the 15 British troops, they started crying happiness and joy.
The conference was translated for the 15 British troops, and when Ahmadinejad expressed regret over the dispatch of a British mother to war zones, the only detained female marine started crying.
During his press conference, Ahmadinejad expressed regret over the dispatch of the British youths to Iraq and their arrest in Iranian waters, and asked, "Why should the most cumbersome missions, such as sea patrolling, be assigned to a mother, why does the western civilization not care for family values?"
Meantime, the source told FNA that the British troops will not be handed over to the British embassy in Tehran, adding that all the 15 will directly leave Tehran for London Thursday morning.
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pasargat (Mohsen.S.M)
