British Sailors

The iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad granted a pardon and release to the 15 british sailors held captive. Yet he called this release a "gift" to the british people, and that he had every right to hold the sailors captive. Altough, one must not over look the fact that the sailors did confess to illegally treading into Iranian waters.Reportedly, neither Iran nor Britain backed down in negotiation. Was this a stunt by the iranian president to show the force, power and resiliency of Iran, a real gift, etc. ? Then again should the soldiers have been kept captive, and not relaesed? Or was this all an irrelevant issue?