HMS Brocklesby on patrol in the northern Persian Gulf last March
Posted on 06/21/2004 8:10:49 AM PDT by monkapotamus
Three Royal Navy vessels 'seized by Iran'
(Filed: 21/06/2004)
The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that it is investigating reports that three Royal Navy vessels have been seized by Iran.
HMS Brocklesby on patrol in the northern Persian Gulf last March |
The Iranians were said to have arrested eight Royal Navy crew as well as finding weapons and maps on board the vessels.
The state-run satellite station Al-Alam was reported to have said that the vessels had been detained in Iranian territorial waters near the Shatt al-Arab waterway that divides Iran from Iraq.
It described the impounded vessels only as "warships". The report said: "Iranian forces confiscated the ships and eight military personnel on board."
Royal Navy vessels have been involved in patrolling the area around the waterway to prevent smuggling as well as training the new Iraqi security forces.
The Ministry of Defence said it could not confirm that the vessels had been seized or that their crew had been detained.
However, a British military spokesman in Basra said that they have not been in contact with three patrol boats in the area since the early hours of the this morning.
The MoD said no warships had been operating in the Shatt al-Arab waterway, but some smaller vessels were in the area assisting Iraqi police.
The Foreign Office said British diplomats in Tehran have made contact with Iranian officials to find out if the reports were true.
Hmmm, since Brittan is a part of the multi-national force, this could be not a very good thing.
3 ships, but only 8 crew members?
This ia an ACT of WAR!
So - the task of Iran falls to the UK? The internal revolution must have been getting bogged down.
Can we get some REAL confirmation on this?
8 UK military personnel in small boats looks like SBS (the navy equivalent of SAS).
Clearly the ship in the photo above is not the ship in question.
Presuming the information is true, of course.
The war will come to the terror masters in Iran in due time, they are already responsible for initiating hostilities prior to this incident. There will be a response.
starting to smell like "SHOWTIME"; sure hope our UK cousins ask for some help so we can oblige them
This story has been reported for hours....here's more.....
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,123233,00.html
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1157321/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1157226/posts
Certainly. It would not surprise me if President Bush and the Prime Minister were talking as we chat here.
Regards, Ivan
How exactly did Iran do this? Do they have warships of their own? Let's not even think about "negotiation" here. Let's tell Iran they have 5 minutes to relase the vessels and crew or the bombing begins.
Zodiacs?
To seventh-century camel jockeys, even a rubber raft is a "warship"...
Okay, so my next question then...
Why is nobody kicking their ass?
This whole story has ben weird. The ship in the photo would have 40-60 crew or more?
I this another Gulf of Tonkin?
Iran even has the COMMUNIST chinese Silkworm missiles (anti-ship) deadly accurate & almost unstopable!
If they have the supersonic version .... maybe that is why this is happening!
Umm, basically the equivalent of a few of a Bass Boats with .50 caliber machine guns on them surrounding them would have been sufficient (see numerous other threads explaining the captured British "vessels" are actually little motorboats, despite vast media idiocy reporting the story.)
Good possibility it was some nutty Revolutionary Guards (not regular Iranian military) that did it without authorization, in which case you'll see some posturing for a week or two and then the Iranians will release them.
The Silkworm is a copy of a 40-year old Soviet weapon and is ancient technology; the AEGIS system of the US Navy was designed to defeat ASMs that are about 2 generations beyond the Silkworm.
Don't believe every pants-wetting hype article about foreign weapons you read.
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