After some intense negotiations between independent mediators and the Iranian Government, the 15 HMS Cornwall sailors and marines have been released and are allowed to depart Iran onboard an aircraft provided by the mediation team.

The Iranian Coast Guard arrested the 15 when a boarding party off the Cornwall accidentally strayed into Iranian waters after they inspected a vessel suspected of smuggling.

The British Government denied that the 15 crew had entered into Iranian waters despite the fact that satellite evidence clearly showed that the Cornwall crew made a GPS error prior to the boarding party using two small-boats to inspect the vessel suspected of smuggling weapons and other materials. The boarding party found nothing.

The release marks the end to a 13-day standoff between the UK and Iran during which the independent mediators travelled to Tehran in order to put and end to the saga.

The episode now having ended, the Cornwall crew should be on their way home within hours.