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British Sailors Freed; Syria's View of Visit With Nancy Pelosi

Aired April 04, 2007 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, IRANIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): ... announce their freedom and their return to the people of Britain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Amnesty for the British 15 after a pledge not to intrude again.

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Necessary and useful talks in Damascus, Nancy Pelosi's take on her Wednesday meeting. The one the White House did not want her to have.

GORANI: And the trail of contaminated food that has killed hundreds of American pets leads to a factory in rural China.

CLANCY: Plus, they can't hear the bombs or the birds, but these Iraqi students can feel the pain of war all around them.

GORANI: It is 7:30 people in Tehran, Iran, 7:00 p.m. in Damascus, Syria.

Hello and welcome to our report broadcast around the globe.

I'm Hala Gorani.

CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy.

From Detroit, to Sao Paulo, Athens to Paris, wherever you're watching, welcome. This is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

GORANI: All right. Live pictures there of 10 Downing Street. We are expecting the U.K. foreign secretary, Margaret Beckett, and the prime minister of Britain, Tony Blair, to make a statement following the announcement that the British 15 are going to be freed very soon from detention in Iran.

CLANCY: Iran's president pardoning, of course, those British service members detained for nearly two weeks, calling it really a gift to the British people.

GORANI: Well, shortly after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made the surprise announcement, he met personally with those British sailors and marines at the presidential palace in Tehran.

CLANCY: You could see him at one point shaking hands and chatting with at least one of them. He went down the line. Some thanked the president in English for his forgiveness.

GORANI: Now President Ahmadinejad said that he received a letter from Britain, and in that letter, there was a promise, according to the Iranian president, that the U.K. forces will not enter Iranian waters in the future.

CLANCY: Now, he also asked London not to punish the freed sailors and marines, referring to their purported confessions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AHMADINEJAD (through translator): I request the government of Mr. Blair not to question these people or to place them on trial for speaking the truth, and I request Mr. Blair, rather than to increase international controversy or the occupation of other lands to take steps towards peace, truthfulness and justice, and to serve the people of England.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLANCY: Now, those remarks coming from Tehran. We are expecting to hear other remarks coming from here, 10 Downing Street, as Margaret Beckett and perhaps even Tony Blair, the prime minister, come out to speak to us. Don't expect them to say too much until those 15 U.K. sailors and Royal Marines are back on British territory -- Hala.

GORANI: All right. We'll go live to that as soon as it happens.

For now, let's get some perspective on all these developments from our chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour. She joins us now live from London.

Christiane, what do you make of the way this release announcement was orchestrated by the president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was dramatic. His press conference that was scheduled for 24 hours earlier was delayed. During that time, we understand from the British that there were ongoing negotiations between the British negotiator and Ali Larijani, the head of Iran's National Security Agency. And we didn't know what to expect from today's press conference.

But it seems that even though President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad does not make the final decisions on this, that he was given the opportunity to announce it to the world. And he certainly took his time doing it.

It was a long history lesson leading up to about 45 minutes before he announced that he had pardoned and given amnesty --Iran had pardoned and amnestied the 15 marines. He also said and he acknowledged that there would be no apology coming from the British. It will be very interesting to see what Prime Minister Blair and foreign secretary Margaret Beckett say about the terms of the release. What, in fact, was promised to the Iranians. But Ahmadinejad said that the Iranian government regretted that the British government was "not brave enough" to admit their mistake. The Iranians continue to claim that the British marines were in their territorial waters. Obviously, though, it has been speculated that the British would make some kind of gesture for the future, saying that these kinds of close calls would not happen again -- Hala.

GORANI: And I suppose the question is, who, if you look at it now in week two, who won the P.R. battle? Who is winning the P.R battle? Who blinked first here?

AMANPOUR: Well, you know, it's interesting. Both sides will probably claim that they did. It seems that, you know, it was resolved in the end diplomatically.

This is not a state of war. There was no really outrageous threats or claims -- rather threats from the Iranians, and no real outrage from the British.

Yes, that they were very disgusted, as Prime Minister Blair said, that their marines were paraded on the television. Yes, Prime Minister Blair tried to get a U.N. statement condemning the seizure. He failed to get that. But shortly after that first week, things went much quieter, and both sides sort of moved into the diplomatic phase.

So, who will win? I think the sailors win, basically, and the status quo ante wins. And perhaps something will come out of it to sort of have a joint meeting of the minds on where the line is in those disputed waters, because it's clear that that line remains disputed.

GORANI: And then what impact do you think all of this will have on nuclear negotiations, or the relationship the EU or the United States has with Iran over the nuclear question, if any?

AMANPOUR: Well, you know, it's probably unlikely to have a huge amount of impact on that. One of the things that before these marines were taken, the chief pressure on Iran was because of the nuclear situation.

And again, in his opening statements, and for considerable time during the press conference today, before he announced the release of the marines, he spent a lot of time, Ahmadinejad, on, again, reiterating what he said was Iran's right to pursue a peaceful nuclear program. And again, saying that it was a peaceful nuclear program.

And to be frank, they do have that right. The issue is, are they being 100 percent transparent about what their capabilities are and what their final intentions are? The West thinks not, and Iran says that it has undergone an unusual amount of intrusive IAEA inspections, that it has nothing major to hide, and that it is going to continue, despite the sanctions.

GORANI: All right. Our chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour, from London.

Thank you, Christiane.

CLANCY: We're going to take you live to 10 Downing Street as soon as anything happens there. We are expecting Margaret Beckett, the foreign secretary, to come out. A possibility we may also hear from Prime Minister Tony Blair.

That is not them, of course, coming out there. There's a lot of goings on there. But we'll take you there live when we're going to hear these first British statements coming out.

Now, what happened really behind the scenes to bring about this release? We heard President Ahmadinejad go on for well over an hour. Earlier, we talked with an international security analyst, Jim Walsh, telling us that only one man, the supreme leader in Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei, really had the power to make this happen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM WALSH, INTERNATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Yesterday it didn't look very good. And frankly, as I looked at it, it was the Revolutionary Guard who were holding these folks.

The Revolutionary Guard are one of the most powerful organizations in Iran. They are almost a government within a government. They have their own economic activities. They -- you know, fingers in a lot of pies. This had to have been the supreme leader who intervened to make this happen.

Now, we are all focused on President Ahmadinejad, but it's good to remind ourselves that in the Iranian system, the person who calls the shots is the supreme leader.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLANCY: All right.

Now, we are looking to continue our coverage. But, you know, when you look at all of this, a couple things to keep in mind right now.

What are we looking for? We are looking for what those 15 royal sailors and marines have to say. We are also looking to hear and see really what happens with the five Iranians that are in U.S. military custody? Nobody can predict that, but look at that.

GORANI: And that's what some reporters have analysts have suggested got the ball rolling, perhaps, on this relationship between the U.K. sailors and Iran.

So, we're going to be looking at all of those angles of the story -- Iran and the nuclear question, Iran and Iraq. All of these things are very important, how they'll play out. We'll continue to follow it.

And we would like your opinion and your view on this as well. CLANCY: That's right. Who comes out ahead in this resolution of the troop standoff with Tehran? Send your opinions to yourviews@cnn.com.

GORANI: All right. We'll air some of your responses on the air a bit later.

Now, President Ahmadinejad also said that there is no connection between the 15 British servicemen and those five Iranians we just spoke about held by the U.S. in Iraq. This is not a connection that the Iranian leader is making.

The five were picked up Erbil. That was back in January in northern Iraq, accused of being intelligence agents. Now, Iran says they are diplomats and is demanding their release. Tehran has now asked that an Iranian diplomat be given access to those five Iranians detained by U.S. forces.

CLANCY: So much more coming up on this story. We're going to be covering it minute by minute.

GORANI: Well, after a short break, and as we continue to follow the Iranian story, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sits down with Syria's president. Much to the dismay of the White House. We'll tell you what she had to say, and we will also hear from a Syrian minister in a live interview also ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In China, some of the safety and sanitary issues needs to be addressed. Spitting at its friends is something that the Chinese do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLANCY: Well, yes, he said spitting, but that's far from the only health issue that's facing Chinese businesses. This may really surprise you, what we have to tell you as we visit a rural factory suspected to be the source of that contaminated pet food in the United States.

GORANI: And then a special school in Iraq where lessons are seen and felt, not heard. We'll explain after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Welcome back, everyone. This is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

A live shot there of 10 Downing Street in London. We're expecting Margaret Beckett, the U.K. foreign secretary, to make at statement after the announcement that the 15 service members who were captured by Iran in the Persian Gulf are due to be released, with reports saying that they will be released and flown back to the U.K. on Thursday.

We might also hear from the U.K. prime minister, Tony Blair. We will bring you that as soon as it happens -- Jim.

CLANCY: Well, meantime, the most powerful woman in U.S. politics defended her visit to Syria in the face of strong criticism coming from the White House. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi met with President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus Wednesday. The White House says this is a visit that sent mixed signal to a country it considers a state sponsor of terrorism. But Pelosi says she's using her time with the Syrian president to make clear Washington's concerns about Syria's role in Iraq, and she says she hopes her visit will help lay the groundwork for solving some problems in the region.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), HOUSE SPEAKER: Peace in the Middle East is a high priority for the American people, and indeed the people in this region and in the world. We were very pleased with the reassurances we received from the president that he was ready to resume the peace process. He was ready to engage in negotiations with peace with Israel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLANCY: Pelosi says she stands by the U.S. position that Syria does support terror groups, but she says she believes it's important to establish a dialogue between the two countries.

What is the Syrian view?

Joining us now from Damascus to talk about that, Bouthaina Shaaban. She's the Syrian minister for expatriate affairs.

Thank you so much for being with us, Madame Minister.

Let me begin by asking, what was President Bashar al-Assad's impression of Nancy Pelosi?

BOUTHAINA SHAABAN, SYRIAN CABINET MINISTER: He found Madame Speaker Nancy Pelosi to be very intelligent, humble, and a woman who represents her country extremely well. She sends the right message to Arab people, to people in the Middle East, that this is how a United States statesman or woman should be, should come here and find out what the reality is talk. And this is certainly the way to solve problems rather than to launch wars.

Launching wars never solved problems. So she is great asset to her country, and she is a great credit to the United States and to Syria, and to the Middle East and to the world.

CLANCY: Well, the words very warm indeed, and hospitable certainly towards the House speaker. At the same time, you know, she's under a lot of criticism in Washington with people that say, you know, she's really -- she's not going to get anything in return, that Syria is not going to do anything. There's nothing going to be any Syrian response to this.

What do you have to say? SHAABAN: Well, I think those people who are saying this, they have a preset agenda. A preset agenda for war and conflict and sectarian wars in the region.

Nancy Pelosi had a very good visit with the president, they talked about many issues. And she mentioned the inauguration speech of President Kennedy, who said in 1961 that what we have to do is to talk and cooperate with all countries, all people in the world, to spread freedom and liberty in the world. And this is what Nancy Pelosi is doing.

Syria stands for freedom and for peace, and so does Nancy Pelosi, and the American people as well. And I hope that we will see more and more of American states people and Europeans who would like to talk and negotiate rather than to encourage armaments and wars and conflicts.

CLANCY: If you see more and more negotiation, would the United States, would Washington, then, see less and less militants somewhere, somehow crossing the border from Syria, going to fight coalition troops in Iraq?

SHAABAN: Well, you know, what we have on the borders between Iraq and Syria is thousands of Iraqis who are fleeing their lovely democracy that President Bush promised them four years ago. All of them, they have their children killed, their houses destroyed. Now we have over a million and a half Iraqis in Syria.

What did the United States do for these Iraqis? It doesn't even permit them a visa to go to the United States. So, Syria is doing its best by its position in the geopolitical situation in the region to help Iraq, to help Lebanon, to help the Middle East, but we have to witness a reverse of U.S. policy in the region.

CLANCY: All right.

SHAABAN: Its policy should be for peace, for stability, and not war.

CLANCY: OK. Those are the broad -- excuse me for interrupting, but I want to get in one last question, and that is this, very briefly, was this visit a success? Why? Yes or no, and why?

SHAABAN: OK. Sorry?

CLANCY: Was this visit a success? Yes or no, and why?

SHAABAN: It was -- it was a great success because it is the beginning of a dialogue for people who want to build relations on the basis of dialogue, rather than on the basis of military armaments.

CLANCY: Bouthaina Shaaban, the Syrian minister for expatriate affairs.

Bouthaina, I want to thank you, as always, for being with us, Madame Minister. SHAABAN: Thank you so much, Jim. Thank you. You are lovely. Thank you, Jim. Thanks so much.

GORANI: Let's check some of the other news we are following today.

(NEWSBREAK)

We're going to take you live now. Here is Prime Minister Tony Blair. Alongside him, his foreign secretary, Margaret Beckett.

Let's listen in.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: ... service personnel have been released. I know their release will come as a profound relief not just to them, but to their families that have endured such distress and anxiety over these past 12 days. Throughout, we have taken a measured approach, firm but calm, not negotiating, but not confronting either.

I would like to thank our allies in Europe, our allies in the United Nations Security Council for their support, and also our friends and allies in the region who played their part. We are grateful to all of them, as we are to the officials in the Foreign Office and Ministry of Defense here on Downing Street for the work that they have done.

And to the Iranian people, I would simply say this: We bear you no ill will. On the contrary, we respect Iran as an ancient civilization, as a nation with a proud and dignified history. And the disagreements that we have with your government we wish to resolve peacefully through dialogue.

I hope, as I have always hoped, that in the future, we are able to do so.

That's all I have got to say for this evening. Thank you very much indeed. Thank you.

CLANCY: Well, the minimal, I think, that was there, a word of thanks. First to the people at 10 Downing Street and the British government that have worked to negotiate what apparently is a behind- the-scenes deal with the Iranians to set free those 15 U.K. sailors and marines, but also thanks there to the Iranians.

GORANI: You really heard Tony Blair stressing the language of diplomacy, telling the Iranian people, "We bear you no ill will. Any disagreement we have with your government we wish to resolve peacefully."

And this is the kind of tone Tony Blair wanted to set on the day that announcement was made that those 15 service members would be released. CLANCY: And as we were saying earlier, don't expect them to say anything until those 15 are back on British soil. It's going to be interesting to hear what they have to say. But you're going to see the government is going to be very guarded about making any comments now.

It's a good resolution. They may not have liked what they heard from President Ahmadinejad, but at the same time, they are not going to try to quash the deal in any way, shape or form.

GORANI: All right.

Let's go to our chief international correspondent again, Christiane Amanpour, for more analysis here.

It was short, but it was clear -- Christiane.

AMANPOUR: Short, and actually full of info. Not negotiating, he said, but not confronting either.

So what were they doing then with Ali Larijani? That's going to be interesting to find out once they can give us more information.

Thanking our allies in the region, perhaps that does mean that some countries in the region played a part in trying to help resolve this. Thanking also member states of the EU for their part.

A refrain that we are now hearing over and over again from both -- mostly from President Bush, actually, when he talks over the head of the Iranian government and talks to the Iranian people, constantly reassuring the Iranian people that we actually respect you, we understand your ancient civilization. But at this point, Tony Blair saying we hope to resolve our disagreements with your government peacefully.

And then he said, "I hope, as I always hoped, that we will be able to continue to do so in the future."

So, I thought that was -- that was really interesting, especially the not negotiating part. Especially thanking allies in the region. Because it will be interesting to know whether other countries -- it's already been mentioned by another news organization that perhaps Syria and Qatar helped, and what exactly was the meat of the conversation with Ali Larijani, the head of Iran's National Security Agency?

GORANI: What do you think the longer-term impact of this episode will be?

AMANPOUR: Well, it's clear that in these instances there was no rush to any kind of confrontation, retaliation, military kind of offensive. And it's important to point that out, because over the last several months, there has been this sort of cacophony of noise between Iran and mostly the United States. But so many people have been so afraid that Iran is going to be the next target of some kind of military operation by the U.S. and its allies. At the time, of course, it seemed that it would be over the nuclear program, and it still worries people in Iran.

Now, Iran -- rather, the U.S. and Britain, keep now going out of their way to say that's actually not on the cards. But Iran has also in this instance pushed back.

It's pushed back over pressure on its nuclear program. It's pushed back on what it says, at least it tell reporters, that infringements of its territorial waters have been a regular occurrence. They keep getting promises, they say, that it won't happen again, but it keeps happening. And this time they had to take action.

Their point -- and they are sticking to it -- is that this was a territorial infringement. The British are saying, no, that that's not the case.

So, maybe there will be some kind of effort to come up with some kind of mutually agreed term of reference for that disputed body of water. Because it is disputed, that particular line.

BLITZER: But it's about much more than territorial waters. It's about battle of influence over Iraq, over other issues.

I mean, how is this -- how is this a symptom, an illustration of how the political power has shifted in the region over the last few years?

AMANPOUR: Well, I think it's a symptom of the -- of the incredibly heightened tensions that have come about since two things, really -- since the U.S.-Iraq War, the U.S.-U.K.-Iraq War, and Iran's insistence on its pursuit of a nuclear program, a peaceful nuclear program, it says.

The West does not trust it. The West, notably Britain and the U.K., whether they say it outright or roundabout, wants regime change in Iran. It's not a secret. They would like to see enough pressure that it brings the regime to fall, or at least to fall into line.

It's also no secret that both the U.K. and the U.S. believe that their policy of isolating Iran is working. The fact that they managed to get the whole Security Council on board for that first U.N. resolution about -- about sanctions.

And the second one, it might not be as tough as the U.S. would like it. Nonetheless, it has, in the U.S. view, the added advantage of being a unanimous resolution, that the Security Council, including the usual holdouts, Russia and China, went for.

So, the U.K. and the U.S. believes that their policy of pressure on Iran is working. The Iranians, of course, in this instance pushed back and said, look, you know, we will take it but only so far. And they took those marines. Whether they were -- you know, the issue of where they were is still disputed.

GORANI: Christiane, we have to -- we have to break in here. We have some live pictures coming in from -- from the U.K. And Jim is going to tell us what they are.

Thank you, Christiane Amanpour.

CLANCY: You're looking at -- this is videotape that has come in, and it shows a bottle of champagne being opened, and family members of the some of those 15 sailors and marines having a celebratory drink as they heard the news some hours ago from President Ahmadinejad that their loved ones would be coming home safe and sound. They really have something to celebrate on this day.

But as we heard earlier, you know, very cautious words coming from the prime minister outside 10 Downing Street. Officials don't want to say too much right now.

Obviously, they may have a lot more to say after they hear what the 15 Royal marines and sailors have to say. But all happy faces there.

And hail, England, talking really about -- and celebrating what can be nothing else but good news for them this day.

GORANI: All right. Pictures shot a few minutes ago.

Not exactly live, as live. But you can see them there. Friends and family of those service members popping open...

CLANCY: It's a celebration.

GORANI: ... the bubbly.

CLANCY: We will be back with more on this story and much more ahead here on CNN International and YOUR WORLD TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Hello, again, to our viewers joining us from more than 200 countries and territories around the globe. Including all of you joining us from the United States.

GORANI: This is YOUR WORLD TODAY. I'm Hala Gorani.

CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy. And we continue covering the breaking story that is coming to us out of both Tehran and London at this hour. Let's go live now to 10 Downing Street and our senior European political editor Robin Oakley. Robin, very brief comments but I think Prime Minister Blair really said it all, didn't he?

ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, he did, Jim, yes. And what was interesting is the way in which he stressed the respect for the dignity of the Iranian people. And talked about how there was no grudge against the Iranian people.

This really came though as a surprise to Downing Street. The question that I threw at Mr. Blair that he did not answer was, was this a gift or was it a deal? And if this had been a deal, as a result of negotiations with the Iranians, then Downing Street would have been much readier with its own statement earlier.

And remember, only last night, Margaret Beckett, who came out with Tony Blair just now, was saying it might take some time to get a result. Tony Blair yesterday was saying, if they didn't get some kind of progress after 48 hours, then they might have to think about a change of tactics.

So this has come as a surprise to them. It's a very welcome surprise and clearly they feel that the future lies in patient diplomacy, not in confrontation. Interesting that Tony Blair paid tribute to the UN Security Council and to the European Union. But actually the phase when he internationalized this episode and took it to the UN Security Council was the phase when things appeared to be going around. Because the Iranians strongly resented that and said all along this is a bilateral matter between two countries and they wanted to be treated with respect and treated as equals, Jim.

CLANCY: As other people look on and they look at all of this, Robin, you don't expect Tony Blair to come on and say, yeah, we negotiated their release. He's not going to say that. At least it's very unlikely. At the same time we don't expect him to say anything until and unless those 15 sailors and marines are back on British soil, do we?

OAKLEY: Obviously, they have got to play it very cautiously until they are safe and sound. Because that's the one thing that Tony Blair and his ministers have stressed all through this. The primary interest here was to get the 15, the 14 men and one woman, back safe and sound. So obviously he wasn't going to do anything to prejudice that. But you might have thought he wanted to get some credit with the British public for his tactics, for the negotiation by the Foreign Office and others to whatever extent it has taken place.

And we do know things did seem to be moving forward yesterday when we knew there was definite contact between Nigel Sheinwald, Tony Blair's attorney affairs adviser here in Downing Street and Dr. Ali Larijani, the chief of the National Security Council in Iran and very much a man with a line to the supreme leader. That was taken at a hopeful stage. Nobody expected things to happen as fast as they did, Jim.

CLANCY: Robin, let me ask you a final question. That is how Tony Blair will come out in all of this? Obviously, he's not standing up trumpeting anything yet this day. We saw videotape a little bit earlier of the families celebrating. There is a lot of people - there was a lot of pressure. Some people said the British are not strong enough, particularly in the United States. They are not dealing with this in the right way. This would appear to vindicate him.

OAKLEY: I think Tony Blair comes out of this pretty well. Because it was a very, very difficult, tightrope he was treading all the way. He was wanting to get those 15 back safe and sound. He was dealing with a regime which does not always talk with total coherence.

There was always the danger that he could overstep the mark in confrontational terms. But at the same time he had a lot of pressure from public opinion, particularly from the media in Britain. Stand up to these people, do more to get our captives back. Always very difficult for politician. You don't want to look weak.

So I think he struck just about the right line of calm, solid, diplomatic effort but showed his willingness to push it up to the international scene and show he had got international support as well. But that tended to be counterproductive and he did not mind changing tactics and going back to the quieter diplomatic style which, if anything, has produced results at the end of the day. So I think he gets a decent score out of this, Jim.

CLANCY: All right. Senior political editor Robin Oakley, as always, Robin, there at 10 Downing Street. Our thanks to you for giving us some analysis on what's happening this day. And we've got more to come.

Hala?

GORANI: Well, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced their release himself. He called it a quote "gift" to the British people. Matthew Chance has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One by one, Iran's hardline president grants freedom to the 15 captured British sailors and marines. With the world watching, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad takes each of them by the hand, accepting words of thanks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are very grateful for your forgiveness.

CHANCE: Ahmadinejad used this Tehran news conference to announce the 15 British service personnel would be set free, calling the unexpected releases a gift from Iran to Britain.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, IRANIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I announce their freedom and their return to the people of Britain. I request the government of Mr. Blair not to question these people or to place them on trial for speaking the truth.

CHANCE: For nearly two weeks the captured British personnel have been paraded on Iranian television, making staged confessions at odds with the official British line.

Most recent images showed the captives looking relaxed, evidence, according to the Iranians, the statements they made were not made under duress. There's been only cautious reaction so far from British Prime Minister Blair. There was in statement from Downing Street welcomes "what the Iranian president has said about the release of the service personnel."

But it says, "We are now establishing exactly what this means in terms of the manner and timing of their release."

And nor is their any detail yet about what kind of deal, if any, was done. The Iranian government confirms it received a letter from Britain promising not to intrude in Iranian waters. It appears to stop short of admitting guilt but may have been enough to ease this release. Matthew Chance, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: Well, we are getting feed back from you, our viewers on our question of the day. We've been talking about Iran's decision to release those 15 British troops.

CLANCY: Here's the question we are asking. Who comes out ahead in the resolution of the British troop standoff with Tehran?

GORANI: Well, Mike from San Diego responds to Mr. Ahmadinejad's press conference. He says, "Excellent quality of rhetoric. He makes both Bush and Blair look like amateurs. What he says is actually plausible," according to this viewer, "more than can be said for B. and B.," meaning Mr. Bush and Mr. Blair."

CLANCY: From Enterprise, Alabama in the Deep South, Richard has this to say, "Now that we have seen the faces of those that captured the Brits, they'll all need to be hunted down, captured and tried by an international tribunal. After that, bomb Iran back into the Stone Age, which for them was about 40 years ago."

GORANI: Tom from Atlanta writes, "The marines and sailors are the winners. However, who loses in this situation? It is the Bush administration which refuses to talk to the enemy. Thank God the British, especially Tony Blair, have the courage to take the diplomatic approach."

CLANCY: All right. Now, we picked some of the more probably inflammatory of those comments you sent into us this day. A lot of reasoned comments coming in as well. Send your opinions to yourviews@cnn.com.

GORANI: All right. But for now we will take a quick break. When we come back ...

CLANCY: A unique perspective on the unique relationship between Iraq and Iran from someone who knows. The former Iraqi minister of defense Ali Allawi joining us right after this.

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CLANCY: Hello, everyone, and welcome back. You're watching YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN International. What a busy day it is.

GORANI: It is. Two hundred countries around the globe are able to watch this program and this hour the United States as well. Welcome to everyone. Our next guest can provide Iraq's perspective on its neighbor to the east, Iran. From Boston, Massachusetts, we are joined by Ali Allawi, he is the former Iraqi minister of defense, also minister of trade and finance and the author of a new book "The Occupation of Iraq, Winning the War, Losing the Peace." Mr. Allawi, let's first start with "Losing the Peace." What do you mean by that? ALI ALLAWI, FORMER IRAQI DEFENSE MINISTER: I think there was an excellent opportunity to alter the fundamental character of Iraqi politics in the direction of Iraqi history, which was lost. The easiest part of it all was the military side. And there was really no doubt who was going to win the military confrontation between the United States and the former regime of Saddam.

But what was lost were the opportunities to create a lasting peace and a reordering of Iraqi society, the economy and its own internal dynamics.

GORANI: What is the solution now as you look at Iraq, as you look at Iran, its growing influence inside of your country, the Shia- dominated government. What is the solution?

ALLAWI: Well, there's no really single solution. There are a whole range of issues that need to be tackled. Because the way in which the regime was overthrown and the absence of any adequate or coherent post war policies has led to a great complexification of the conditions inside of Iraq.

And it requires in my mind a complete regional, domestic and international commitment to not just peace inside Iraq, but also a resolution of the issues that resulted of the upending of a very deal power structure inside Iraq and the region. Basically we have to redefine the political map of the Middle East.

GORANI: The political map of the whole Middle East. What about inside of Iraq? Is this a country that was born in the '20s? It has got three very distinct blocks to it. Is this a country that can survive?

ALLAWI: Well, it cannot survive as far as I am concerned without really adequately tackling the internal issues of the country. There are deep sectarian divisions inside the country. There are ethnic divisions inside the country between Kurds and Arabs and there's increasingly, I think, a class distinction. The mass of the population is impoverished now as a result of poor economic policies, sanctions and the disastrous maladministration of the country after the occupation. So it is a very, very fragile structure.

GORANI: Ali Allawi, what should America do?

ALLAWI: I think the United States should really sponsor a kind of congress of major parties in the Middle East, major regional powers as well as domestic powers.

GORANI: Including Syria? Including Iran?

ALLAWI: Yes. Definitely. These countries have vital interests inside Iraq and they were threatened existentially, as it were, by the up-ending of the old political structures inside Iraq.

GORANI: And if that doesn't happen?

ALLAWI: So they have to also be involved. GORANI: If that doesn't happen?

ALLAWI: I think if that doesn't happen Iraq will continue to be a battleground for competing interests. And it's not just Iran and Syria. We have countries like Turkey that have an interest in the outcome of Iraq. We have countries like Saudi Arabia that is vitally concerned about the internal balance of power inside Iraq.

These countries have to be drawn into a coherent long-term plan to stabilize Iraq and stabilize the relationship between countries inside the region. And I think it should be sponsored by the United States because, obviously, unilateral approach has not worked.

GORANI: Ali Allawi, many thanks for joining us. Joining us from Boston this day, the former Iraq defense minister and senior adviser to the Iraqi prime minister now and author of the book that you see on your screen there, "The Occupation of Iraq, Winning the War, Losing the Peace." Mr. Allawi, thank you.

CLANCY: Not necessarily optimistic view on what is going to happen in Iraq. But at the same time saying somehow, some way everybody in the region has to get together to talk about Iraq's future.

GORANI: OK.

CLANCY: We will have more on Iran's decision to release those British sailors and marines.

GORANI: When we return, our "Insight" segment, everyone, don't miss it, more perspective on Iran's latest move. How we got here step by step. Stay with us.

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GORANI: Well, we are also getting some reaction from the mother of one of the marines who is expected to be released from Iran on Thursday. Sandra Sperry is her name. And she's the mother of marine Adam Sperry. Let's hear what she had to say just a few minutes ago.

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SANDRA SPERRY, MOTHER OF MARINE ADAM SPERRY: I got a telephone call from my son saying they are going to let him out. I couldn't believe it. We just never expected it today.

QUESTION: Was that from Adam himself?

SPERRY: From James, his younger brother.

QUESTION: Tell me what these couple of weeks have been like for you.

SPERRY: Very -- highs, lows. It's just -- when I saw Adam and he was safe and he was smiling, I was really happy. And then a couple of days later and he looked really quite dejected, and that was sad. And I woke up this morning and I thought, I can't do this anymore. I have just had enough now. How long is this going to go on for?

Just go to work and work and you will be fine. But I never expected this at least until Easter. Me, along with the rest of the parents, we just can't believe it. The trouble is, we will not believe it until we have seen them. One - when they come it might be (inaudible)

QUESTION: What kind of a lad is ...

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: All right. There Sandra Sperry was speaking to a reporter outside of her home, it seemed like, drinking from a wine glass. Not sure what was in it. Anyway, the mother of the marine Adam Sperry, who is due to be released in the next 24 hours from Iranian detention. Jim?

CLANCY: All right, as the release of those 15 British sailors and marines dominates our news this day, it's work going back over all of these events that led up to the surprise announcement today. Rosemary Church joins us now with insight on that. Rosemary?

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it all started somewhat innocently. Some Iraqi fishermen talk of several British or American personnel being seized in the Gulf and a British spokesman saying there had been an incident somewhere in the north of the Persian Gulf. Let's go back to March 23.

Iranian forces seized the 15 British servicemen in disputed waters separating Iran and Iraq. A diplomatic crisis ensues at a time of already heightened tensions over Iran's nuclear ambitions. Well, a day later Iran says the sailors confessed to entering Iranian waters illegally. Britain denies that and calls for their release. On March 27, Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair warns Iran of a different phase if it doesn't release those detainees.

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BLAIR: I hope we manage to get them to realize they have to release them. If not, then this will move into a different phase. But at the moment what we are trying to do is to make sure that that diplomatic initiative works.

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CHURCH: Well, the next day Britain unveils evidence to show the military personnel were captured in Iraqi waters, not in Iranian waters, as Tehran insists. That same day Iran shows footage of the captured Brits and publishes a letter from the woman sailor, Faye Turney, admitting they entered Iranian territory.

Well, on March 30 Iran disclosed three detained personnel on television and releases another letter. The next day Britain moves to tone down the rhetoric.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MARGARET BECKETT, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: What we are endeavoring to do is as we have done from the beginning, to encourage Iran to move to a way to peacefully resolve this issue.

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CHURCH: Then on April 2, Iran says it wants to resolve the crisis through diplomacy and says there's no need for a trial.

And then today, of course, April 4, the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, awards medals to the men who captured the British sailors. Afterwards announcing he will free the 15 British sailors and marines as a gift. And that's how this 13-day crisis unfolded. Back to you.

GORANI: All right. Thanks very much, Rosemary Church, with a step-by-step look at the crisis.

Now, that's it for this hour ...

CLANCY: Well, as we -- before we go, I want to put a couple of things in perspective here. I think we have about a minute just to talk about it. The things that have come out here today that are really fascinating that have happened here.

Yes, we have 15 royal sailors and marines that are probably headed home to the British Embassy in Tehran right now. We believe. Have not confirmed that independently. But there's a mention today of that FBI agent that was missing. We have got a question about the five Iranians that are held by the U.S. and a bid there from Iran, something new for me that this man, Ahmadinejad, is saying that there could be relations with the U.S.

There was a grounds for it. In the past the Iranians have to a fault all said there's no reason for relations between the U.S. and Iran and there might be a signal in all of this, that this man, that the Iranian leadership is more in a negotiating mood.

GORANI: And it seems from what we heard coming out of 10 Downing Street as well that the language of diplomacy was the one that Tony Blair wanted to stress. The prime minister of the United Kingdom clearly indicating there that that is the strategy and the route he wants his country to take, firm but calm, he called, not negotiating but not confronting either. And we bear no ill will to the Iranians. A very interesting and rich news hour there for you. That is it for now.

I'm Hala Gorani.

CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy. We leave you with a word one of our viewers. "Outstanding. Shows that patience and quiet diplomacy does work."

This is CNN.

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