TEHRAN, Iran — Iran seized three Finnish men on a fishing trip near a disputed Persian Gulf island and held them incommunicado for several days before agreeing Wednesday to release them, the men’s employer said.The three men working for Nokia Siemens Networks in the United Arab Emirates were on a weekend jaunt near the island of Abu Musa when their boat “mistakenly navigated into Iranian waters,” said Barry French, a spokesman for the Finnish-German telecom company.

Abu Musa is claimed both by Iran and the UAE.

The Finnish Ambassador to Tehran said Iranian officials had assured him that the three men were in good condition but had not agreed to a Finnish request to see them.

But Iranian and Finnish officials later said negotiations to free the men had gone well and they were expected to be released within 48 hours.

Finnish MTV3 reported on its website that Foreign Minister Ilkka Kanerva said the men were free, but it gave no details.

French said Nokia had heard from the three men, who reported that they were heading back to the UAE.

“They (the men) have contacted us and said they will return to Dubai shortly,” he said.

Ahmad Akhoundi, deputy governor of Iran’s Hormozgan province, said the three Finns had “entered Iranian territorial waters” off Abu Musa and were “questioned by judiciary authorities.”

The Finnish ambassador to Iran, Heikki Puurunen, declined to release the men’s names or other personal details.

Nokia Siemens said the three employees were on vacation.

Following the Finns’ seizure, the Foreign Ministry in Helsinki revised its travel advisory on the Persian Gulf, saying that travel near Abu Musa and other islands in the region should be avoided.

Iranian Revolutionary Guards detained 15 British sailors and marines after seizing their ship on March 23 in what Tehran claimed were Iranian waters in the Persian Gulf. Britain insisted the crew was in Iraqi waters at the time. The 15 were released after nearly two weeks in captivity.

A British couple and an Australian man were released last year after being held in Iran for 13 days after their sailboat strayed into Iranian waters near Abu Musa.

In November, 2005, Iranian officials arrested a Frenchman and a German during a sailing trip, purportedly for taking photos of ships in the Persian Gulf. Stephane Lherbier and Donald Klein were convicted in January 2006 and sentenced to 18 months in prison. Lherbier, the Frenchman, was released in February 2007, and Klein was freed in March.