The British sailors were each equipped with a Global Positioning System (GPS) device at the time they were arrested by Iranian marine guards after illegally entering Iranian territorial waters.

Official sources told Press TV late on Wednesday that all the detained Britons carried GPS devices which clearly indicated they had left Iraqi territory and trespassed about 500 meters into Iran's waters in the Persian Gulf.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Iranian Embassy in London said the detained Britons were 0.5 km inside Iranian waters in Arvand Rud when arrested.

"We are confident that Iranian and British governments are capable of resolving this security case through their close contacts and cooperation in order to prevent the reoccurrence of such incidents in the area," the statement read.

"Iran has given the geographical characteristics of the place of arrests to the British government which indicates that the British personnel were half a kilometres inside Iranian waters," it added.

Britain's military had claimed earlier on Wednesday that the British vessels were 1.7 nautical miles inside Iraqi territorial waters when the incident happened.

AMM/KB