Five Britons are being held in Iran after its navy seized their yacht, which may have strayed into Iranian waters in the Gulf en route from Bahrain to Dubai, the Foreign Office said yesterday.

In the incident on November 25 - which recalled the seizure of 15 British sailors in 2007 - a racing yacht owned by Sail Bahrain and crewed by five British nationals "was stopped by Iranian naval vessels," it said.

"The yacht was on its way from Bahrain to Dubai and may have strayed inadvertently into Iranian waters.

"The five crew members are still in Iran. All are understood to be safe and well and their families have been informed," an FCO statement added.

It is believed that the yacht was sailing from Bahrain to Dubai ahead of the start of the Dubai-Muscat Offshore Sailing Race.

The Foreign Office said it had had some "limited indirect contact" with the group but could not say where they were being held or if they were in prison. It is not clear whether they are professional sailors.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband said British officials immediately contacted the Iranian authorities in London and in Tehran "both to seek clarification and to try and resolve the matter swiftly.

"Our ambassador in Tehran has raised the issue with the Iranian Foreign Ministry and we have discussed the matter with the Iranian embassy in London," he said.

"I hope this issue will soon be resolved. We will remain in close touch with the Iranian authorities, as well as the families," he added.

Mr Miliband is also trying to set up a phone call with his Iranian counterpart, Manouchehr Mottaki, the Foreign Office said.

In March 2007 a group of 15 British sailors were seized by Iran while in disputed waters.

They were released after around two weeks, but only after a tense diplomatic standoff between London and Tehran.

Relations between Tehran and the West have not improved since then - and chilled further after the Islamic republic announced Sunday that it plans to build another 10 uranium enrichment plants.

In the 2007 incident, eight sailors and seven marines were captured on March 23.

Britain insisted they were in Iraqi territorial waters, while Tehran said they were in Iranian waters.

Britain pursued quiet diplomacy for the first few days, but after then Foreign Minister Margaret Beckett hit a dead end in talks with her Iraqi counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki, London's patience snapped.

In the 13 days the 15 (14 men and one woman) were not mistreated, but were paraded on Iranian television, sparking anger from Britain and other Western governments.

Iran had insisted the key to resolving the crisis was an admission from Britain that the sailors and marines violated its territorial waters.

That standoff damaged already fragile ties between Tehran and the West already frayed by Iran's controversial nuclear programme, and had sent jitters through world oil and financial markets.

Britain said the sailors were carrying out routine anti-smuggling operations in Iraqi waters in line with a UN mandate, but Iran says the sailors' Global Positioning System devices show they intruded on Iranian waters.

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