Tearful homecoming for Britons freed by Iran

A video grab of released British serviceman Operator Maintainer Andrew Henderson kissing an unidentified woman at Royal Marines Base Chivenor in Devon, 200 miles (320 km) southwest of London April 5, 2007.

Fifteen British military personnel freed by Iran after a two-week stand-off were reunited with their families on Thursday.
The 14 men and one woman hugged and kissed tearful relatives at a military base in southwest England ahead of a debriefing session, after landing in London from Tehran.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to the surprise of British government, said on Wednesday he had decided to forgive and free the group, who were seized along with their patrol boats in the northern Gulf on March 23.

Iran said they had strayed into its waters but Britain said they were in Iraqi waters on a regular U.N. mission.

In a statement released several hours after their return, the 15 said their arrival at Heathrow airport had been a "dream come true" and said they would not forget the welcome.

"The past two weeks have been very difficult, but by staying together as a team, we kept our spirits up, drawing great comfort from the knowledge that our loved ones would be waiting for us on our return," they said in a statement read out by a Royal Marines spokesman.

Prime Minister Tony Blair was somber. He said that while the country celebrated the safe return the joy was diminished by the killing of four British soldiers in Iraq on Thursday.

"Just as we rejoice at the return of our 15 service personnel, we are also grieving and mourning for the loss of our soldiers in Basra, who were killed as the result of a terrorist act," Blair said outside his office at 10 Downing St.

在经历了长达两周的外交僵局后，被伊朗释放的15名英国海军于周四回到英国，与家人团聚。

从德黑兰抵达伦敦后，14名男水兵和1名女水兵前往位于英国西南部的一个军事基地与家人团聚，他们与热泪盈眶的家人互相拥抱、亲吻，之后接受了军方的询问。

3月23日，这15名水兵连同他们的巡逻舰在海湾北部被伊朗扣押。让英国政府没想到的是，伊朗总统内贾德于本周三宣布决定释放这15名水兵。

据伊朗方面称，英国水兵非法进入了伊朗的水域，而英国政府则称他们是在伊拉克水域执行联合国的常规任务。

这15名水兵在回国几小时后发表的一份声明中说，飞回希思罗机场让他们“梦想成真”，并表示不会忘记所受到的欢迎。

他们在由皇家海军发言人代读的声明中称：“我们度过了十分艰难的两周，但是我们团结一致，振作精神，在得知我们的家人将等待我们回家后，我们感到了莫大的安慰。”

而英国首相布莱尔则是忧心忡忡。他说，正当大家都在庆祝这15名水兵安全回国时，我们的四名士兵却于周四在伊拉克遇难。

布莱尔在他的首相官邸外发表的讲话中称：“在我们庆祝15名海军回国之时，我们也要为在巴斯拉遭恐怖主义袭击而身亡的士兵们哀悼。”

Vocabulary:

debriefing: 询问情况