THE fate of the 15 British marines and sailors held in Tehran may depend on the outcome of a power struggle between two of Iran’s top generals, write Uzi Mahnaimi and Marie Colvin.

According to an Iranian military source, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards has called for them to be freed.

Major-General Yahya Rahim Safavi is said to have told the country’s Supreme National Security Council on Friday that the situation was “getting out of control” and urged its members to consider the immediate release of the prisoners to defuse tension in the Gulf.

However, Safavi’s intervention was reportedly denounced by another senior general at a meeting of high-ranking commanders yesterday.

Yadollah Javani, the head of the Revolutionary Guards’ political bureau, was said to have accused him of weakness and “liberal tendencies”. Javani is said to have demanded that the prisoners be put on trial.

Reports of the clash emerged as Terry Waite, who was kidnapped in Beirut while trying to negotiate a hostage release in 1987, offered to travel to Tehran to try to secure the release of the 14 servicemen and one woman.

“I don’t think one needs to be afraid of these people, but one does need to have respect for their point of view, whether you agree with it or not,” said Waite, who spent almost five years as the hostage of an Iranian-backed fundamentalist group in Beirut.

“I would rather like it if they would prove their humanity by giving me access to the country and the people being detained.”

In Tehran, tension was expected to increase further today with a huge demonstration by students outside the British embassy. The protest was being organised by the Basij, a paramilitary force of about 10m people paid by the regime.

At similar protests in the past, they have shouted, “Death to Britain” and thrown stones. An Iranian official said security was being increased in case the embassy was besieged.

The developments followed a warning by Safavi, the Revolutionary Guards commander, that Iran should prepare for a possible invasion, which he believes could come as early as next month.

US military exercises in the Persian Gulf involving two aircraft carriers, 100 aircraft and 10,000 personnel have fuelled fears in Tehran that America may be on the verge of launching airstrikes against Iran’s nuclear programme.

Many military officers believe the British naval party intercepted on March 23 was part of a ploy to test Iran’s readiness for an invasion. Tens of thousands of Basij, the force that provided the shock troops for the Iran-Iraq war, have been sent to the Iraqi border.

Iranian military sources said the Supreme National Security Council had concluded on Friday evening that Ayatollah Khamenei, the supreme leader, should order the release of the British naval personnel on Safavi’s advice.

However, according to one account, which could not be confirmed, Javani described Safavi’s recommendation as tantamount to treason.

The demand for a trial was backed by advisers to Khamenei. “The British aggressors must be tried and dealt with according to Iranian laws,” said Ayatollah Mojtahed Shabestari, an influential cleric.

Iran’s ambassador to Moscow, Gholamreza Ansari, said a legal process was already underway. “If there is no guilt, they will be freed,” he added. But he denied that he had said they could face trial. Other officials called on Britain to send a delegation to Tehran to resolve the crisis.

Margaret Beckett, the foreign secretary, urged Iran to resolve the crisis peacefully and said London was open to talks.

A reply was sent to an Iranian embassy letter asking London to acknowledge that its sailors had trespassed in Iranian waters and to confirm that it would not happen again. The Foreign Office refused to reveal its response.

Javier Solana, the EU policy chief, said he hoped to talk directly to Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Additional reporting: Michael Smith

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