Posted on 03/28/2007 3:42:33 AM PDT by maquiladora
The Ministry of Defence has presented evidence which shows that the fifteen personnel detained by Iranian authorities on Friday 23 March 2007 were operating in Iraqi waters when they were seized.
The briefing, at defence headquarters in London, was given by Vice Admiral Charles Style, Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Commitments). Vice Admiral Style, who is responsible for providing strategic advice to operational commanders, explained in detail where the Royal Navy personnel were located when they were seized:
"The aim of this brief is to provide a factual account of the incident during which fifteen Royal Naval personnel were seized by the Iranians last Friday. By way of background, HMS CORNWALL was in charge of the coalition force, which - alongside the Iraqi Navy - is operating in the Northern Persian Gulf.
"This force maintains the sovereignty and integrity of Iraqi territorial waters under UN Security Council Resolution 1723, and with the approval of the Iraqi Government. The ship – and others in the coalition - maintain a presence patrolling there. They are also charged with protection of the Iraqi offshore oil infrastructure – economically very important - and the security of merchant vessels.
"On 23 March a boarding team consisting of seven Royal Marines and eight sailors - who were embarked in two of HMS CORNWALL's boats - conducted a routine boarding of an Indian flagged Merchant Vessel which was cooperative throughout. They investigated this vessel after witnessing her unloading cars into two barges secured alongside. Since early March the force has conducted 66 routine boardings. So the one that I'm talking about was entirely routine business, and conducted in a particular area where four other boardings have been completed recently.
"As shown on the chart, the merchant vessel was 7.5 nautical miles south east of the Al Faw Peninsula and clearly in Iraqi territorial waters. Her master has confirmed that his vessel was anchored within Iraqi waters at the time of the arrest. The position was 29 degrees 50.36 minutes North 048 degrees 43.08 minutes East. This places her 1.7 nautical miles inside Iraqi territorial waters. This fact has been confirmed by the Iraqi Foreign Ministry.
"The Iranian government has provided us with two different positions for the incident. The first we received on Saturday and the second on Monday. As this map shows, the first of these points still lies within Iraqi territorial waters. We pointed this out to them on Sunday in diplomatic contacts.
"After we did this, they then provided a second set of coordinates that places the incident in Iranian waters over two nautical miles from the position given by HMS CORNWALL and confirmed by the merchant vessel. The two Iranian positions are just under a nautical mile apart – 1800 yards or so. It is hard to understand a reason for this change of coordinates. We unambiguously contest both the positions provided by the Iranians.
"I should just explain at this point that the boats remained connected at this point. One of the seaboats was connected via data link, which communicated its position continually to the ship where it was displayed, superimposed on an electronic chart, on a purpose built console. During the boarding this console was constantly monitored and indicated, throughout, that the boats had remained well within Iraqi territorial waters.
"Our boarding started at 0739 local time and was completed at 0910 with the merchant vessel having been cleared to continue with her business. Communications were lost with the boarding team as the boarding was finishing … at 0910. HMS CORNWALL's Lynx helicopter, which had been covering the initial stages of the boarding, immediately returned to the scene to locate the boarding team.
"The helicopter reported that the two seaboats were being escorted by Iranian Islamic Republican Guard Navy vessels towards the Shatt 'Al Arab Waterway and were now inside Iranian territorial waters. Debriefing of the helicopter crew and a conversation with the master of the merchant ship both indicate that the boarding team were ambushed while disembarking from the merchant vessel. Both boats were equipped with a GPS chart plotter.
"On Sunday morning, 25 March, HMS CORNWALL's Lynx conducted an overflight of the merchant vessel, which was still at anchor, and once again confirmed her location on Global Positioning System equipment. Her Master confirmed that his vessel had remained at anchor since Friday, and was in Iraqi territorial waters.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, my primary message is clear. HMS CORNWALL with her boarding party was going about her legal business – in Iraqi Territorial waters, under a United Nations Security Council Resolution, with the explicit approval of the Iraqi government.
"The action by Iranian forces in arresting and detaining our people is unjustified and wrong. As such it is a matter of deep concern to us and the families of the people who have been taken. We continue not only to call for their safe, but for their safe and speedy, return, and we continue to seek immediate consular access to them as a prelude to their release."
Picture shows GPS location of the incident, as seen from a Royal Navy helicopter over the merchant vessel [Picture: MOD]
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In case it hasn't been posted, video, pics:
http://news.sky.com/skynews/home
Can anyone spell
I R A N I A N
I N V A S I O N?
They do have better equipment. Possibly it was easier to photograph the handheld at the time, or there is a directive not to photograph the military GPS.
You mean, about the same way that the idea of Iranian weapons and Iranian insurgents being in Iraq is suspiciously absent from any MSM reporting? Yeah. What a coincidence.
___
The idea of Iranian troops being in Iraqi waters is suspiciously absent from any media discussion.
Bad conversion from DD MM to DD.DD
Should be:
29.839
48.718
How's that?
So the Iranian government are pirates....treat them as such.
The coords given were in DD MM, meaning degrees and minutes. To convert to decimal degrees, DD.DD, as it looked like you were trying to do, divide the minutes by 60 and add to the degrees. You cannot just add the minutes as decimal degrees.
You're right, I used the wrong formatting in GE.
Correct entry into the "fly to" box is:
29 50.174' N, 48 43.544' E
It's over.
I tend to agree. Both presidents are on their way out. The people in both countries by and large oppose the war. Common sense dictates they would oppose an escalation with Iran.
We can agree or disagree with that, however, the bigger picture in all of this...is this:
Iran is gaining strength. Iran has nuclear technology. The Arab world, and fanatic Islam, is spreading. Hatred of the West is spreading. I honestly believe the US and the West is afraid of upping the anty. Intelligence agencies seem to have suspect information. Who knows exactly what Iran is capable of? Congress just broke off a big one in the back end of Bush. Everyone is scared. Everyone wants to put their heads in the sand.
Many of us grew up during the Cold War and recall governements (and people) who were willing to throw down at the breech of peace.
I believe those days are gone.
I also believe many on here share this memory, and share the resistance to give in and lay down arms. Many on here are warmongers. They itch for a skirmish. The majority, though, strike me as defenders of freedom and peace. Simultaneously, they (we) believe in strong military and strong resolve.
Will it ever return?
She will disagree because she doesn't understand. If she was in the first position, she would ALSO be in the second position at the same time.
bookmarking
why the bookmarking?
"why the bookmarking?"
Probably just marking the thread and hit the 2nd post instead of the 1st..my guess.
The iranians have LIED to us.
These idiots gave us coordinates INSIDE iraqi territory, and then when we confronted them on this, they CHANGED the coordinates.
Where is the outrage over here? Apart from a few tabloids, we're showing ourselves as both apathetic and pathetic all at once. What a shambles.
I demand the British threaten them severely!! :-)
Yep, that's it!
And the Iranians take "hostages" from Iraqi territories and "act of war" hasn't been conveyed as of yet let alone the Geneva Convention as if the Iranians or their accomplices in the MSM care.
I don't have to wonder what the headlines would read if those Iranians were seized while in Iraqi territory by the Brit's and returned Post haste to boot or better yet fired upon?
Iran has stated that the British must admit that they were in Iranian waters. There is no misunderstanding. The UK goverments resolve on being in the right is not going to be withdrawn. Again get back to me when this actually happens. If you believe this then you are being extremely naive.
Very insightful observation there. It doesn't figure someone able to put a Helicopter over a developing international crisis would shop exclusively at Target. P> However, if you have an interest in a GPRs, the Garmin eTREX is a fine untit. Clear day, in the open, it is seemingly accurate within inches. When Geocaching, the accuracy is relative to the person who placed the cache. There are also the Geodetic survey markers and I have found the Garmin gets them right on the money as well.
The GPRs is like a PDA for the woodsman/outdoorsman.
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