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| 5/23 |
| 2007/3/25-29 [Politics/Foreign/MiddleEast/Iran, Politics/Foreign/MiddleEast/Iraq, Politics/Foreign/MiddleEast/Others] UID:46088 Activity:kinda low |
3/25 http://www.csua.org/u/ib9 Iran says they have signed confessions from the Brit soldiers to "to aggression into the Islamic Republic of Iran's waters" and that they'll trade them for Iranian spies captured in Iraq. Will this be an Archduke Ferdinand moment? \_ This situation is beyond crazy. Has anyone seen analysis that clearly shows whose territorial waters these sailors were caught in? \_ No, Bush would clearly love to "double down" in Iran, but his hands are tied now. Two years ago, this would have meant war. \_ These are british soldiers, not americans. \_ And? \_ And? \_ British->NATO->US, says Bush. \_ Who exactly is "Iran" and what did they say? \_ Wonder how the Brits'll react? Freeze Iranian funds? The Iranians are pretty clearly in the wrong. \_ how about grabbing an iranian vessell from iranian waters, taking the crew prisoner, and claiming they are all spies with signed confessions. \_ Are you sure that the Brits were not in Iranian waters? All I have seen are "he said - she saids" claims. I assume the Brits \_ Are you sure that the Brits were not in Iranian waters? All I have seen are "he said - she said" claims. I assume the Brits will escalate until the Iranians back down. We shall see. \_ There is concensus. They were in Iraqi waters. \_ 3/27 Update: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070327/wl_nm/iran_dc "Blair's spokesman said the next step London could take would be to publish proof, in the form of global satellite positioning (GPS) records, that the sailors had not entered Iranian waters." But of course Iran could claim that the GPS records are fake. BTW, if Margaret Thatcher were still the PM, the Brits would be planning to nuke Iran by now. \_ At least sending the fleet in that direction, but Briton doesn't have much of a fleet anymore. |
| 5/23 |
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| www.csua.org/u/ib9 -> www.sundaymirror.co.uk/news/tm_headline=iran--swap-sailors-for-our-jailed-spies%26method=full%26objectid=18805338%26siteid=62484-name_page.html Uk HARDLINERS who seized 15 British sailors and marines will demand a "prisoners swap" of Iranian agents to secure their release. Up to 50 Iranian "spies" have been captured and imprisoned by British troops in secret operations in southern Iraq in the last four years. Now Government officials are having to consider setting them free to save the eight sailors - one a woman - and seven Royal Marines held by Iranians. The revelation came as the sailors were interrogated by the Iranian secret service after reportedly being moved to the capital, Tehran. Meanwhile Foreign Office minister Lord Triesman spent an hour with Iran's ambassador in London demanding their safe return. The ambassador, Rasoul Movahedian, responded by blaming Naval personnel for straying into "territorial waters". The sailors, serving on frigate HMS Cornwall, had been on two inflatable speed boats searching for smugglers coming from Iraq. But shortly after boarding a small boat on the Shatt al Arab waterway on the Iran-Iraq border to check for illegal goods, they were surrounded by Iranian Revolutionary Guard gunboats. Led away under armed guard, the sailors were taken to a nearby base. Yesterday Iranian military official General Ali Reza Afshar said the sailors had all "confessed to illegal entry into Iran's waters". He said: "They are being interrogated and have confessed to aggression into the Islamic Republic of Iran's waters." Afisherman on the Shatt al-Arab who witnessed the incident said the British had definitely been in Iraqi waters. Last night a senior Whitehall source said: "The freeing of agents will almost certainly be one of Iran's demands - and there certainly will be demands. "Some have been arrested, some have been repatriated, but many are still being questioned under lock and key. "Their imprisonment has enraged Iranian leaders - most of whom do not even recognise Iran's borders with Iraq." Tensions are already high between Iran and the West, as the UN voted last night for tougher sanctions against Iran's plans to go ahead with its programme to create a nuclear weapon. Plans for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to address the UN in New York yesterday were cancelled amid claims that visas had been obstructed. A SERIES of suicide bombs targeting Iraqi police ripped through Baghdad yesterday, killing more than 60 people. In the worst attack, at least 20 died when a lorry full of explosives blew up by a police station in the Dora district. |
| news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070327/wl_nm/iran_dc Russia and the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday urged Iran to comply with UN demands that it halt sensitive nuclear work but Tehran says the UN resolution is illegal. Iran, which denies any intention of making atomic weapons, has said it may charge the two boatloads of British sailors and marines with illegally entering its waters in the northern Gulf. is to pursue this through the diplomatic channels and make the Iranian government understand these people have to be released and that there is absolutely no justification whatever for holding them," Blair said. If not, then this will move into a different phase," he told Britain's GMTV television. Blair's spokesman said the next step London could take would be to publish proof, in the form of global satellite positioning (GPS) records, that the sailors had not entered Iranian waters. "We so far haven't made explicit why we know that because we don't want to escalate this," he said. British officials had shown Iran data on the sailors' exact position when seized, a British government source told Reuters. "I am utterly confident that our personnel were in Iraqi waters and not just marginally in Iraqi waters," Blair's spokesman said. Britain has been assured the sailors are well but has not been given access to them or told where they are being held. "Of course they are in a completely safe place and they are being treated in a humane and Islamic way," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told state television. British embassy staff will be allowed to see the sailors only once the preliminary investigation has been completed, an Iranian government spokesman told the IRNA state news agency. LEAVE DOOR OPEN British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett telephoned her Iranian counterpart on Tuesday to demand the sailors' release and spoke "in very robust terms" to "again demand their safe and speedy return and immediate consular access." Beckett cut short a visit to Iran's neighbor Turkey due to the seizure of the naval personnel, she said in a statement. Earlier, she said Britain would "continue to leave the door open for a constructive outcome." Iraq's Foreign Ministry and an Iraqi fisherman who witnessed the capture said it took place in Iraqi waters. Iraq feared the fallout from increased tension between Britain and Iran. "We are making efforts with the Iranians to solve this issue because any escalation would impact Iraq. Any tension would (play out) on Iraqi land," said Ali al-Dabbagh. Iran captured eight British servicemen in similar circumstances in 2004 and released them after three nights. Analysts have said the current crisis appeared more complex and would take longer to resolve than three years ago. "The incident in 2004 was less tense, there were fewer gathering clouds, so they may well be held for longer," said Alex Bigham, of the Foreign Policy Center. "There are probably also internal political battles in Iran over what to do next." Some hardline groups in Iran suggest the case could be a bargaining chip in its nuclear and other rows with the West, exposing what analysts said were divisions with more moderate voices who want to build bridges abroad, not exacerbate tension. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. |