Report says detained British sailors in Tehran

[maddezmom]

Source: Reuters

Report says detained British sailors in Tehran Saturday March 24, 09:34 AM

TEHRAN (Reuters) - The 15 British navy personnel detained in the Gulf on Friday have been transferred to Tehran to explain their "aggressive action", the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Saturday.

Iranian officials were not immediately available to comment on the report, which did not give a source for the information.



Read more: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/24032007/325/report-says-detained-british-sailors-tehran.html

---

BBC just reported on air that Iran says the GPS systems on the boats prove the UK navy was indeed inside Iranian water.

[maddezmom]

1. British navy personnel, who it said included some women, were transferred to the Iranian capital

Detained UK navy personnel moved to Tehran-report
24 Mar 2007 09:39:31 GMT
Source: Reuters
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(Adds details)

TEHRAN, March 24 (Reuters) - The 15 British navy personnel who were detained in the Gulf on Friday have been transferred to Tehran to explain their "aggressive action", the semi-official Fars news agency said on Saturday.

Iranian officials were not immediately available to comment on the report, which did not give a source for the information.

Fars said the British navy personnel, who it said included some women, were transferred to the Iranian capital around noon local time on Saturday.

Iranian forces seized the British personnel on Friday in the mouth of the waterway that separates Iran and Iraq, triggering a diplomatic crisis at a time of heightened tension over Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

more:http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L24222379.htm

[Eugene]

2. Iran turned up the rhetoric today.

Source: Reuters

Iran says entry of Britons a "suspicious act"

2 hours, 11 minutes ago

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's Foreign Ministry condemned what called
the illegal entry of British naval personnel into Iranian waters as a
"suspicious act," the official IRNA news agency said on Saturday.

-snip-

"The Foreign Ministry's spokesman called the illegal and interfering
entry of British forces into Iranian territorial waters a suspicious
act and against international laws and rules and has harshly
condemned it," IRNA said, revising an earlier report which did not
include the word "interfering."

-snip-

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070324/wl_nm/iran_iraq_statement_dc

---

Source: IRNA

Iran condemns illegal entry of British sailors into its waters

Tehran, March 24. IRNA

Iran-Britain-Sailors
Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini Saturday categorically
condemned the "illegal entry" into Iranian territorial waters of British forces.

Hosseini considered the "illegal and interventionist" entry into Iranian
territorial waters of British forces as a "suspicious move and contrary to
international rules and regulations." Referring to the "biased nature of such
movements", he said, "Violating the sovereign boundaries of other states and
illegal entry denote unusual goals in violation of international commitments,
the responsibility for which cannot be evaded under any justification." Turning
to the British forces' efforts to cover up their illegal action, he said the
British officials instead of making up for their blunders should try to refrain
from putting the blame on others by way of "irrelevant interpretations".

Fifteen British sailors of a naval fleet were arrested by Iranian forces
in Arvand River in the northern part of the Persian Gulf waters Friday
morning.

News sent: 11:06 Saturday March 24, 2007

Link: http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-24/0703245528110620.htm

[maddezmom]

3. Iran not releasing British marines; British government seeking help from neighboring countries

Iran not releasing British marines; British government seeking help from neighboring countries
TEHRAN (CNN) -- The British government put pressure on local governments in the Middle East Saturday in attempts to free 15 British Royal Marines seized by Iran in the Persian Gulf on Friday, the foreign office told CNN.

Iran has accused the marines of crossing illegally into their territorial waters.

Meanwhile, Iran's semi-official FARS News Agency reported the marines have been brought to Tehran and are expected to explain their "aggressive behavior." The foreign office declined to comment on that report.

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/03/24/saturday/index.html

[stilpist]

4. My guess: they don't want to wait for former governor bush

to start a war with them. Iran, like the US, has a government that prefers war. Seems like Iran is concerned that former Texas governor bush might fuck up and not successfully get the war started, and so decided to try to do it themselves.

edit - to clarify identity of former governor

[ohio2007]

5. They are bargaining chips to hedge their bets on a troop withdraw

Seems they would like to get the Brits to make the same time table promise

No wonder embassies in Tehran are working on evacuation plans

[shain from kane]

6. Ted Koppel to make comeback. Day 444: The British Hostages in Iran.