TEHRAN, April 2: Iran and Britain signalled possible ways out of the standoff over 15 detained British soldiers on Monday, with Tehran promising to stop airing video confessions and Britain saying it was willing to discuss ways to avoid future confusion regarding the Persian Gulf boundary.

The somewhat conciliatory tones from both capitals raised hope the 11-day standoff might be solved soon. But it remained unclear how long the crisis might drag on. Optimistic signs have emerged before, only to be followed by a hardening of positions and tough rhetoric.

Earlier on Monday, an Iranian state-run television station said all 15 British sailors and marines had confessed to illegally entering Iranian waters. However, Iranian state-run radio said the confessions would not be broadcast because of what it called ''positive changes'' in Britain's negotiating stance. The radio did not elaborate on the changes.

But in London, a British official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said Prime Minister Tony Blair's government had agreed to consider ways to avoid such situations in the future.

The official insisted that Britain was not negotiating with the Iranians and still wanted the captives freed unconditionally.

The Britons were detained on March 23 by naval units of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards while patrolling for smugglers near the mouth of the Shattal-Arab, a waterway that has long been a disputed dividing line between Iraq and Iran.

Tehran says the crew was in Iranian waters. Britain insists its troops were in Iraqi waters working under a UN mandate.

In Tehran, the head of the Iranian parliamentary committee on foreign policy and national security, Allaeddin Broujerdi, said Britain should send a representative to Tehran to discuss the alleged incursion.

''The only solution is for them to send an official to find out the reason for the invasion,'' Broujerdi told state radio. ''There is a need for a bilateral agreement to prevent such an event in the future.''

It was not immediately clear whether Broujerdi had government backing for his proposal. This weekend, The Sunday Telegraph newspaper of London reported that Britain was considering sending a senior Royal Navy officer to Tehran to discuss the return of the service members as well as discuss ways to avoid future incidents.

All that suggested that the two sides were seeking a face-saving formula in which each could maintain that its interests were upheld and the captives could go free. Under such a formula, Iran could claim that Britain tacitly acknowledged that the border area was under dispute. Britain could maintain that it never apologized.

A generation ago, such a formula helped free US diplomats held by Tehran for 444 days. The United States pledged not to interfere in Iranian affairs, enabling the hostage-takers to claim they had achieved their goal.

—AP