Talks have begun on freeing eight British servicemen seized in Iran after their boats strayed into the Islamic Republic's waters, Iran's al Alamsatellite channel has reported.
The six marines and two sailors were arrested on Monday, increasing diplomatic tensions between the countries.
"Negotiations began between the Iranian political, diplomatic delegation and a team from the British consulate in Iran after their arrival in the city of Mahshahr in the province of Khuzestan," it reported today.
The television channel earlier said there was a possibility the handover could be delayed a day, but British officials said it still expected the men to be freed sooner.
"The Iranian government has given us confirmation of their intention to release the men today," a Foreign Office spokeswoman said.
Mahshahr is a petrochemical centre in southwest Iran by the wreck-infested Shatt al-Arab waterway along the Iraqi border where the men were seized.
Al Alam showed pictures of the eight detainees blindfolded and walking in single file on a beach next to what appeared to be the Shatt al-Arab waterway.
"I offer my apologies to my family and the British government and the Iranian people for making this mistake," one of the men told the station.
The official IRNA news agency quoted a source as saying an inquiry had found the men had entered Iranian waters by mistake and without hostile intent.
A British military source acknowledged the men may have strayed into Iranian waters in bad weather in confined straits.
The men had been delivering a small patrol boat to Iraqi river police. The Ministry of Defence said the men were carrying only their personal weapons.
While deeply opposed to the US-led war in Iraq, Iran has in the past turned a blind eye to foreign aircraft and boats on its Western border.