News alert: Iran to release 15 Britons held since March 23

Announced this morning in a New York Times alert, “Iran said today it would immediately release 15 British sailors and marines who have been held captive in Iran since March 23. In the announcement of the release, President Ahmadinejad* “also criticized Britain for its involvement in the war in Iraq. ‘We are sorry that British troops remain in Iraq and their sailors and being arrested in Iran.’”

Juan Cole, who blogs at Informed Comment and writes a column for Salon.com, thinks that the motive behind seizing the 15 British sailors and marines is an effort to rally anti-Western sentiment and force the Brits from Iraq, as set forth in his column yesterday, Iran's Hostage Crisis, well worth reading.

*photo of Grand Ayatollah Khameni and the Iranian President