WASHINGTON - The United States rejected any suggestion Friday that 15 British sailors detained by Iran for the past week could be swapped for five Iranian officials held by US forces in Iraq since January.
"We reject any linkage," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said when asked if the fate of the British detainees might be tied to the Iranians detained on suspicion of aiding anti-US insurgents in Iraq.
US officials have said the five Iranians were members of the elite al-Quds Brigade of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.
They were detained by US forces in January during a raid on an Iranian official in the northern city of Erbil.
US officials have said computers and other equipment seized during the raid provided information on Iranian involvement in attacks on US forces in Iraq.
Iran says it seized the British sailors for being illegally in Iranian waters. Britain says they were carrying out anti-smuggling operations in Iraqi waters and has demanded their immediate release.
03/30/2007 17:20 GMT