Why Iran Seized the British Marines

TIME ^ | Friday, Mar. 23, 2007 | HOWARD CHUA-EOAN

[MinorityRepublican]

The most ominous detail about Iran's seizure of 15 British Royal Marines in the Shatt-al-Arab waterway on Friday morning is that the servicemen were reportedly taken into custody by the navy of the Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The IRGC is a powerful, separate branch of the Iranian armed forces. Soaked with nationalist ideology, it has grown into a state within a state in Iran, with its own naval, air and ground forces, parallel to official government institutions. The IRGC is directly controlled by Supreme Leader Ayatullah Ali Khamenei, the ultimate font of religious and political power in Iran.

The IRGC also has its own intelligence arm and commands irregular forces such as the basij — a voluntary paramilitary group affiliated with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad — and the Quds force, which has been accused by the U.S. of supplying material to Iraqi insurgents bent on killing American soldiers.

The IRGC is also known for its clandestine activities including logistical support for militant organizations like Lebanon's Hizballah, which it helped to set up in the 1980s, and several Shi'a militia groups in Iraq. The IRGC's activities are often a thorn in the side of Iran's Foreign Ministry, which is forced to repair the ruptures in Tehran's diplomatic relations with countries the Guard has inflamed with its self-directed adventures. Nevertheless, it has been one of Iran's main instrument in projecting power and influence over the last few decades.

Because the IRGC's actions are always interwoven with the religious-nationalist ideology of Iran's hardliners, extricating the British may be complicated.

[navyguy]

Yeah. Unfortunately we've shown nothng but weakness ourselves.

[hinckley buzzard]

I just hope that Tony Blair has the stones to invoke Article 5 of the NATO charter,

I hope he does something, at least, to gain and keep momentum of the situation. If he waits and dithers with diplomats and the usual palaver, he will risk losing control of the situation like Carter did. The West must realize at long last that these incidents call for a punch in the nose, not a wagging finger in the face.

[Marine_Uncle]

One thing is for sure. That frieghter the Brits where going to board must have been loaded with things they did not want us to see. They took and extreme measured calculation, and seem to have won. They can always return the sailors after some time, say diplomatic negotiations go forth favoring them.
I doubt the Brits or us will take any military action.
We should remember the cat and mouse games are a daily occurance in the Persian Gulf. Usually the Iranian Navy simply passes by the US and NATO naval vessels and each wave at the other. No real hostilities, just cautiouse navigation.
It is possible the IRGC really did this on their own, and it will turn out to be an embarrasement of sort to their president.
After all he had to cancel his trip to the UN, after so much pissing and moaning that it was not right that he could obtain the visas for his henchmen.
Now did the Mullahs double cross him in allowing the IRGC to pull off such a stunt. Or again was the materials on the freighter that sensitive they simply had to stop the boarding process.

[Chena]

One thing is for sure. That frieghter the Brits where going to board must have been loaded with things they did not want us to see. They took and extreme measured calculation, and seem to have won. They can always return the sailors after some time, say diplomatic negotiations go forth favoring them. I doubt the Brits or us will take any military action. We should remember the cat and mouse games are a daily occurance in the Persian Gulf. Usually the Iranian Navy simply passes by the US and NATO naval vessels and each wave at the other. No real hostilities, just cautiouse navigation. It is possible the IRGC really did this on their own, and it will turn out to be an embarrasement of sort to their president. After all he had to cancel his trip to the UN, after so much pissing and moaning that it was not right that he could obtain the visas for his henchmen. Now did the Mullahs double cross him in allowing the IRGC to pull off such a stunt. Or again was the materials on the freighter that sensitive they simply had to stop the boarding process.

bttt

[JerseyHighlander]

People who make a living being pundits, as well as many online chatters, have said they believed the ship being inspected must have had something the Iranians did NOT want inspected. I'd say to the contrary that the ship being inspected was bait, and probably being piloted by a IRGC captain or a captain on the IRGC dime at the time, doing everything possible to make itself a obvious target for a boarding party inspection.

And sadly, Blair has so little domestic support in the Uk he can't do anything aggressive here. Gordon Brown has more say on this than Blair. And no one is going to believe Brown is about to have his 9/11 moment just weeks before he actually is declared the official "next PM in waiting" by the labor party.

[Marine_Uncle]

Good points, well taken. It could have been a simple set up. And if the British ship had did anything to interfere things would have looked worse for them, e.g. crossing significantly into Iranian water.

[MinorityRepublican]

Gordon Brown is not going to last long in the next election, the Conservatives will take over or a more charismatic Labor leader will take over.

[DCPatriot]

Maybe it's time for us to clandestinely fund a matching group that just happens to have its own air force, navy, and army. Every time something like this happens, they could respond with force while, at the same time, the US could say, 'gosh we just don't have any control over those guys, sorry 'bout your city'.

We already do. It's called Israel.

[quantfive]

"Temporarily Shut down Kharg island (Almost all Iran's oil is exported from this one facility) until they are released.
Plus it will give practice for might have to be done later."

Good idea, it will also show them what we will do later and perhaps minimize the bloodshed. That is the real problem isn't it? Iran pissing in our face for 30 years and us doing nothing?