The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has arrested five British nationals for trespassing Iran’s territorial waters in the Persian Gulf, a senior IRGC commander announced on Tuesday.

“Confrontation with alien forces and arresting them is a responsibility of the IRGC,” IRGC Navy Commander Alireza Tangsiri told FNA in the port city of Bandar Abbas in southern Iran.

Noting that the incident has not yet been relayed to the media, the commander stressed that more details on the issue will be released soon.

Meantime, Britain announced that Iranian authorities had seized five British sailors after their racing yacht strayed into Iranian territorial waters.

The group was sailing a 60-foot Volvo racing yacht from Bahrain to Dubai last Wednesday when they were “stopped by Iranian naval vessels,” the British Foreign Office said in a statement. “The yacht was on its way from Bahrain to Dubai and may have strayed inadvertently into Iranian waters. The five crew members are still in Iran.”

Later on Tuesday, Britain said that there was no discussions underway with Iran after the Islamic Republic detained the five Britons.

“There is certainly no confrontation or argument. As far as we are aware these people are being well treated, which is right, and what we would expect from a country like Iran,” Foreign Secretary David Miliband told BBC Radio 4.

“We understand that the Iranian government is investigating the incident, which is perfectly reasonable, and then we would look forward to it being promptly sorted out.”