Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has defended the capture of the Oxford Boat during the annual race with Cambridge stating the boat was "clearly within Iranian waters".
Stunned spectators watched with renewed interest as the Iranian vessel pulled alongside the Oxford boat and forced it to a halt. The nine students were brought aboard the Iranian ship, which then returned to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps base in Tehran.
Swift negotiations between the UK and Iran led to the quick release of the Oxford crew who are currently rowing back from the Middle East. It remains unclear as to whether the stretch of the River Thames where the incident took place is indeed part of Iran's water empire, but for the time being the public are being urged not to enter the area.
The Cambridge team, who were clear of the area before the Iranian forces arrived have been stripped of their victory and a rematch has been planned for later in the year once the boundary problems have been resolved. A member of the Cambridge team declared the event as "typical Oxford behaviour".
In related news, a family of four are the latest group to have been intercepted by the Iran Navy after their pedalo strayed too far from the beach in the seaside resort of Great Yarmouth.
