Eight British servicemen who were detained after their boats strayed into Iranian territorial waters have been turned over to British diplomats, officials said Thursday. Protesters angry about the occupation of Iraq tried to approach the six Royal Marines and two sailors as they arrived at Tehran’s airport accompanied by British consular officers, but they were kept away by police. The eight were detained Monday after their boats apparently strayed into the Iranian side of the Shatt al-Arab waterway, or Arvand River, that runs along the Iran-Iraq border while delivering a patrol boat to Iraq’s new river police. "I’m told that they are in very good spirits and were well cared for," British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said in a brief statement.
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