Female British Service Member Claims They Were in Iranian Waters
BLITZER: There are some stunning new developments regarding those 15 British service members seized by Iran. Our Aneesh Raman has been closely monitoring this story. He's joining us now live from Riyadh in Saudi Arabia -- Aneesh, what is the latest, given the fact that you're there, the Iranian foreign minister is there, there's an Arab summit underway? I assume this is a huge issue.</s>ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is. I spoke to Iran's foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, Wolf, a short time ago, on the sidelines at the Arab summit here. He told me that the sole woman sailor within this group of 15 British marines and sailors seized by Iran will be released as soon as possible, perhaps as early as today, if not tomorrow. He said "very soon," were his exact words. Shortly after that, of course, this video was released showing some, not all, of the 15 marines and sailors in seemingly good condition. Featured permanently was Faye Turney, the sole woman among this group. A letter she wrote her family was shown where she admits to mistakenly entering Iranian waters and also a statement of hers was aired. Let's listen to that.</s>FAYE TURNEY, BRITISH SAILOR: My name is Leading Seaman Faye Turney. I come from England. I serve on Foxtrot 99 and I've been in the Navy nine years. I live in England at present. I was arrested on Friday, the 23rd of March. And, obviously, we trespassed into their waters. They were very friendly, very hospitable, very thoughtful, nice people. They explained to us why we had been arrested. There was no aggression, no hurt, no harm. They were very, very compassionate.</s>RAMAN: Wolf, the British government has said that statement was likely made in a situation of coercion and they have said that the video being released is "completely unacceptable" -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: This Iranian video that was shot of these British sailors and marines, has it actually been shown to the Iranian people?</s>RAMAN: It has not. The only Iranian state run channel that has aired this is Al-Alam, an Arabic language Iranian station that is broadcast predominantly outside the Islamic Republic. I have repeatedly been calling within Iran. So far, this video has not aired inside the Islamic Republic. Clearly, it's a sign that Iran is trying to appease global concerns about the condition of these marines and sailors, but at the same time is dealing with a domestic political situation where hard- liners are calling for a trial and calling for these British marines and sailors to be charged with espionage -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: Aneesh Raman watching this story for us. He's now in Riyadh. He was just in Teheran. We'll stay in touch with Aneesh on this story. Let's go to Carol Costello. She's in New York. She's monitoring all the major stories, the feed coming into THE SITUATION ROOM, as well -- Carol.</s>CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Wolf. Hello to all of you. In the Iraqi city of Fallujah, at least 15 American and Iraqi forces were wounded in bomb attacks involving highly toxic chlorine gas. The U.S. military says Iraqi troops and police fired on a pair of trucks carrying the explosives and the chlorine as they approached a government compound. Now, that caused them to blow up before they reached their target. We're getting new details on the cancer recurrence of White House Spokesman Tony Snow. Just a short time ago, Snow's deputy clarified that cancer was found on, not in, his liver. And doctors say that is a very important distinction. The chairman of the Federal Reserve says problems in the risky mortgage market does not appear to be affecting the overall economy. But in testimony on Capitol Hill just a short time ago, Ben Bernanke said growing troubles with so-called sub-prime mortgages raise additional questions about the housing sector and bear close watching. The slumping housing market has been a major factor in the U.S. economic slowdown. And the controversial group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth may have helped bring down John Kerry's 2004 presidential bid, but now the group has also helped derail the nomination of one of its major donors to serve as ambassador to Belgium. Just hours ago, President Bush withdrew the nomination of businessman Sam Fox. In confirmation hearings, Democrats grilled Fox about a $50,000 donation to the Swift Boat group. That's the headlines right now -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: Carol, thanks. We'll get back to you shortly. Still ahead, Rudy Giuliani picks up a key endorsement in the race for the White House. We'll find out who's now officially backing the Republican presidential candidate. And the ambitious agenda of House Democrats now floundering in the Senate. We're going to show you why this could become another do nothing Congress. Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.