LONDON — Iran is holding five British sailors after stopping their racing yacht in the Persian Gulf, the British government said Monday. The move could heighten tensions between Iran and major powers, including Britain, that are demanding a halt to its nuclear program.
The yacht, owned by Sail Bahrain, was stopped on its way from the tiny island country to the Gulf city of Dubai on Wednesday when it “may have strayed inadvertently into Iranian waters,” Britain’s Foreign Office said. Sail Bahrain’s website identified the yacht as the Kingdom of Bahrain and said it had been due to join the 360- mile Dubai-Muscat Offshore Sailing Race, which was to begin last Thursday.
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said that British officials had been in touch about the matter with their Iranian counterparts for nearly a week. Iran is also holding three young Americans who strayed across the border from northern Iraq in July. The Associated Press
