[continued from previous message] 
  
 view between the UK government and the Iranian government and this issue 
 should be resolved bilaterally...Our priority would definitely not be a 
 trial, unless the UK insists on not solving this problem through diplomatic 
 channels. 
  
 Some British diplomats have welcomed Mr Larijani's involvement as a sign 
 that Iran's political elite is seeking to resolve the dispute. But they 
 also expressed doubts over whether Iran's fractured government had agreed 
 to a common negotiating line. 
  
 "There remain some differences between us but we can confirm we share his 
 preference for early bilateral discussions to find a diplomatic solution to 
 this problem," the British Foreign Office said on Monday night. It added 
 that it would make contact with the Iranian authorities on Tuesday. 
  
 Mr Larijani said that London should send a delegation to clarify whether 
 the 15 British sailors and marines had entered Iranian waters but that the 
 Iranian government believed "100 per cent" that they had done so. 
  
 "After that there is a diplomatic channel...that could help to solve the 
 problem," he added, specifying that he would accept negotiations with 
 either British ministers or the UK ambassador in Tehran. 
  
 "A number of soldiers have made a mistake, have violated the other 
 country's territorial waters," he said. "They should be brave enough to 
 admit the mistake, confess to it, and leave." Iranian television has 
 already screened a number of "confessions" by the British personnel, which 
 UK officials suspect were obtained by coercion. Tehran says all 15 have now 
 confessed. 
  
 The UK says its personnel remained within Iraqi territory but the matter is 
 complicated further because there is no agreed maritime border between Iran 
 and Iraq. 
  
 "A guarantee must be given that such violations will not be repeated," said 
 Mr Larijani, indicating possible terrain for compromise between London and 
 Tehran. 
  
 While steering clear of an apology, Margaret Beckett, British foreign 
 secretary, has expressed "regret" over the incident in which Iran captured 
 the 15 British sailors. In a reply to an Iranian letter sent late last 
 week, Ms Beckett also suggested that Iran and the UK seek to prevent such 
 disputes from recurring. 
  
 On Monday, Iranian media welcomed what it said was the more "positive" 
 approach from Britain, although Mr Larijani accused London of having 
 "behaved irrationally" in its initial approach to the dispute. 
  
 "It seems that Britain has shifted a little bit from its stance," Iranian 
 state television said on Monday as it screened the latest footage of the UK 
 prisoners on Monday. "If this path continues, one can hope that the issue 
 would be resolved in a bilateral process and far away from fuss and clamour 
 and with achieving Iran's logical demands." 
  
 Iran's student news agency ISNA said because of Britain's alleged change of 
 stance, Tehran would not broadcast "details" of the video of the detainees. 
 Unlike earlier clips, which included the prisoners' "confessions," the 
 latest videos were screened without sound. 
  
 The UK has already been considering the possibility of sending a team of 
 diplomats and naval staff to begin talks with Iran. One avenue would be to 
 set up a "parallel process" in which the two sides would simultaneously 
 discuss the status of the detainees and a mechanism for dealing with 
 potential future disputes over naval operations in the northern Gulf. 
  
 "I would not find fault with the British response. They have played it by 
 the book," said Mark Fitzpatrick, a fellow at the London-based 
 International Institute for Strategic Studies. But he added: "Iran did not 
 respond positively when Britain went public. I think it is more likely that 
 Tehran will respond to pleas from other Islamic countries." 
  
 Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2007. 
  
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