They're free!

The world dodged another bullet. And once again, Ahmadinejad has proven he does what he says he will.

Fifteen British sailors freed by Iran were flying home to London on Thursday, jubilant and relieved at the dramatic end to their two-week ordeal that had triggered a tense international standoff.

The sailors and marines left Tehran on a British Airways flight 14 days after they were seized by Iranian forces in the northern Gulf accused of violating Iranian territorial waters.

Their departure wraps up a rapid succession of events that began when President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday abruptly deflated the escalating diplomatic crisis by pardoning them as a "gift" to the British people.

"I was so happy that I was not able to sleep all night," said one of the commanders, Felix Carman, quoted on Iranian state television.

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