Lt Smash has this to say -
Iran actually has two "navies." The regular Iranian Navy consists of a handful of submarines, destroyers, frigates, and auxiliary craft. They are generally courteous and professional, and avoid direct confrontation with other military vessels in the Gulf.
On the other hand, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also known as the Pasdaran, is anything but courteous and professional. The Pasdaran navy consists of several hundred small vessels, ranging from speedboats armed with machine guns and rocket launchers, to fast corvettes armed with anti-ship missiles. The Pasdaran are considered “guardians of the revolution,” and report directly to Iran’s ruling mullahs.
During the Iran-Iraq war, Pasdaran units repeatedly attacked neutral shipping, setting several oil tankers ablaze. Since the end of that conflict, they have frequently undertaken naked acts of piracy, often holding entire crews of small vessels for ransom (generally, these were smugglers of Iraqi oil or other illegal exports who had failed to pay protection money to the mullahs).
The Pasdaran navy has had several run-ins with the United States and other allied navies in the Gulf. I personally witnessed their recklessly aggressive tactics first-hand, when two Iranian missile boats made a high-speed run at US Navy battle group, and failed to respond to radio calls. Suffice it to say that several Iranians owe their lives to the patience and restraint of my ship’s captain – I was ready to open fire.
These are the nice folks who have seized three British patrol boats and taken eight sailors hostage. Unfortunately for them, they probably have no clue as to the nasty can of worms they have just opened.
http://www.lt-smash.us/archives/003007.html#003007
Someting is not quite right with this. All day long now (and I just checked the wire services again) it's the same story with nothing new added. Britian isn't saying anything and neither is the US. WHY? By now both the UK and US should be condemning the action and demanding the immediate release of the soldiers, yet nothing but roaring silence. Again, why?