Iran may cash in on UK sailor arrests

A video grab taken from Iranian TV station al-Alam shows a smiling British Lt Felix Carman with Christopher Air. Other pictures showed them watching a Premiership football game, laughing while sitting barefoot in tracksuits on a rug and tucking into a meal of kebabs and soup. Iran said the pictures are intended to show the sailors were treated well, after the mariners reported in the UK that they had been maltreated while in custody. (AFP/Getty Images)

Iran has plans to release a book and CD documenting the arrest and interrogation of the 15 British sailors held captive in the country for two weeks, according to reports today.

The book and compact disc are "being prepared and will soon be distributed," military commander General Ali-Reza Afshar said in a written statement quoted by CNN International.

Iran's move to reveal confessions from the captors comes just as the British personnel are in a hot scandal in the UK over media deals to sell their side of the story to the press.

The deals include getting paid for public appearances, interviews with news outlets and book deals.

While in custody, some of the captives confessed on video to straying into Iranian territorial waters, however they withdrew the confessions upon returning to the UK, CNN reports.

General Afshar has blamed Britain for "forcing the British sailors to deny their own statements while in detention."

Iran released more video of the captors a few days after their release - showing them smiling and playing games during the detention - in order to illustrate their 'comfort' and 'complete freedom', Iran's al-Alam network said.

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