Britain Demands Iran Free Seized Sailors

AP ^ | Friday, Mar. 23, 2007

[MinorityRepublican]

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Naval forces of Iran's hardline Revolutionary Guards captured 15 British sailors and marines at gunpoint Friday in the Persian Gulf -- an audacious move coming during heightened tensions between the West and Iran.

U.S. and British officials said a boarding party from the frigate HMS Cornwall was seized about 10:30 a.m. during a routine inspection of a merchant ship inside Iraqi territorial waters near the disputed Shatt al-Arab waterway.

Iran's Foreign Ministry insisted the Britons were operating in Iranian waters and would be held "for further investigation," Iranian state television said.

A U.S. Navy official in Bahrain, Cmdr. Kevin Aandahl, said Iran's Revolutionary Guard naval forces were responsible and had broadcast a brief radio message saying the British party was not harmed.

In London, the British government summoned the Iranian ambassador to the Foreign Office, and Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said he "was left in no doubt that we want them back."

Iranian TV quoted an Iranian Foreign Ministry official as saying the top British diplomat in Tehran had been called in to receive Tehran's protest of the "illegal entry" into Iranian waters.

"This is not the first time that British military personnel during the occupation of Iraq have entered illegally into Iran's territorial waters," the unidentified official was quoted as saying.

Britain's Defense Ministry said the Royal Navy personnel were "engaged in routine boarding operations of merchant shipping in Iraqi territorial waters" and had completed a ship inspection when they were accosted by Iranian vessels.

The eight Royal Navy sailors and seven Royal Marines were part of a task force that protects Iraqi oil terminals and maintains security in Iraqi waters under authority of the U.N. Security Council. .

[Jrabbit]

Right....good luck, Britain.

[Pox]

Or...Or...We'll talk you to a bloody pulp!

[MinorityRepublican]

They probably did this because they gambled that Tony Blair is weak at this moment and would give up something to get 15 men back.

I don't think that they are this bold to do this to the Americans while President Bush is still in charge.

[racing fan]

Or...Or...We'll talk you to a bloody pulp!
____________________________________________________

LOL.

Savage is right about the current situation.

[pillut48]

Is James Bond available?!
If so, he needs to watch 24 and get tips from
Jack Bauer on how to handle terrorists!!

[penelopesire]

"I don't think that they are this bold to do this to the Americans while President Bush is still in charge."

Of course not....they are not even brave enough to come to the UN after this stunt because ahmanutjob is scared of our President....LOL

[Dog Gone]

Iran may think this is bargaining leverage for tomorrow's UN vote on sanctions.

They have another thing coming.

[James W. Fannin]

Another 444 days?

[cookcounty]

Shut down the oil terminal at Kharg Island (easy to do). Tell them the flow will begin again within the hour of their being released.

[Pox]

Another reason could be to simply help expedite their pullout from Iraq. Could be they have calculated that this stunt will simply encourage the liberals to howl even louder about bringing the troops home.

[MaxMax]

Another 444 days?

Yea, where's Carter. /s

[MinorityRepublican]

Of course not....they are not even brave enough to come to the UN after this stunt because ahmanutjob is scared of our President....LOL

[MinorityRepublican]

Yea, where's Carter

We are still suffering from the consequences of President Carter's inept administration.

[Dog Gone]

Well, possibly. But the British character hasn't really changed in foreign policy since Argentina decide to reclaim the Falkland Islands.

They went down there, half a globe away, and kicked their butts.

If anything, this will increase British support for both the war as well as anti-Iranian sentiment in that country.

[MinorityRepublican]

If anything, this will increase British support for both the war as well as anti-Iranian sentiment in that country.

Great Britain is a world power.

If they want to continue to be relevant, they need to cut their social programs a bit and increase the size of their military by 100,000 men.

They have the population of over 60 million citizens.

[Radix]

Great diplomatic move by the Iranians.

Go on and fire up the British Electorate at this juncture.

[Pox]

But the liberals have not been for the war in Iraq from the beginning. This isn't the same as 2 1/2 decades ago, and is also not British territory that would likely inflame any country in that situation regardless of political leanings.

If Maggie was still in charge and this was still the 80's I doubt the current Iranian leaders would have even postulated such a move.

[MinorityRepublican]

Great diplomatic move by the Iranians.

Every time that the war doesn't look good on our front, the Islamo-fascists do something stupid to increase our support from our citizens at home.

[2ndDivisionVet]

Didn't I read that the Royal Navy will soon be down to only 22 ships? Why would the Iranians (or anyone else) be afraid of a force of that size? There's a lesson here, I'm afraid.