Iran says British sailors 'admit' to illegal entry

[UpInArms]

Source: CNN

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- Iran says the 15 British sailors and marines seized by Iran in the Persian Gulf have admitted to trespassing into Iranian territory, the semi-official FARS News Agency reported Saturday.

But the British Ministry of Defence would not confirm the report.

The British government said its request to communicate with the detained troops has not been granted by Iran.

Earlier Saturday, FARS reported that the sailors and marines were brought to Tehran to explain their "aggressive behavior." (Watch how British sailors and marines were seized )

The British Ministry of Defence said Friday the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy surrounded and seized the marines while they were conducting a routine inspection on a merchant vessel. They were then "escorted by Iranian vessels into Iranian territorial waters." (Location of incident)

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman on Saturday condemned the British government for attempting to cover up its "blunder" and said it should stop "putting blame on others," according to IRNA, the state-run Iranian news agency.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/03/24/iran.uk.sailors/

[bemildred]

1. This could get interesting.

It seems clear that Iran is happy to jerk Tony-the-Poodle's chain, which is not surprising considering the constant stream of drivel directed at them in return. This ought to clarify the situation, providing an answer to the question as to whether Tony actually has the means to do anything about it.

[cali]

2. After a few days of sniping

the marines and sailors will be returned. Just like in 20004.

[leftynyc]

3. You make this sound like a game

Do you mean to do that?

[bemildred]

17. What do you think it is?

Some sort of serious political drama? Bush is an idiot, Blair is a suck-up, and Ahm-an-idjit is a loon. None of them is seriously in a position to do much but run their mouths and stage political dramatizations like this one. Why should I treat it like anything BUT a soap-opera?

[leftynyc]

22. They are all in a position to do a great deal more than

that which is the problem. These are people's lives here. I don't, in any way, consider this a game. I doubt you'd sound so amused if anyone you were close to were involved on either side of this conflict.

[bemildred]

23. No they are not, if they were, they'd be doing it.

You assumption that one cannot be both serious and amused is false, as is the idea that games are not serious.

[angstlessk]

4. Well, they can waterboard them the US has proclaimed it is NOT

torture. Case closed!

[gratuitous]

5. Let's see how England reacts

It sounds like Iran is running play-for-play straight out the George W. Bush Book of International Relations. In an incident of dubious origins, Iran "captures" "enemy aggressors" who "confess" their "trespass," blame a rival government for objecting, and lectures them not to blame others for their own blunders.

Let's see how this plays out. We know that the Bush administration, blessed with an acute case of self-unawareness, will surely condemn Iran. What will England, which, for all its faults, doesn't seem to have quite the belly for self-deception that the Bushies have, do?

[Eugene]

6. Fisherman says saw Britons detained in Iraqi waters

Source: Reuters

Fisherman says saw Britons detained in Iraqi waters
24 Mar 2007 16:32:29 GMT

-snip-

By Aref Mohammed

BASRA, Iraq, March 24 (Reuters) - An Iraqi fisherman, who said
he saw Iranian forces detain British sailors and marines in a
waterway between Iraq and Iran, said on Saturday the ship British
forces were searching was anchored in Iraqi waters.

-snip-

Brigadier Hakim Jassam of the Iraqi coastguard said it was not clear
whether the ship was in Iraqi or Iranian waters.

The fisherman, a witness who alerted Reuters to the incident several
hours before it was confirmed by the British government, said the
line between Iranian and Iraqi waters was not marked by buoys but was
well known.

-snip-

He said the ship the British forces were searching was among several
that had been anchored for a week or more, waiting to unload or take
on cargo at an Iraqi port.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L24273137.htm

[DavidDvorkin]

7. Can't possibly be true

Numerous DUers have posted angrily that the Iranians must be telling the truth and the Brits must be lying, and they would surely know.

Admittedly, there's something of the personality of the rightwing's Keyboard Commandos to their postings, but who are we to argue with them?

[Mika]

15. It has to be true.

The Iraqi Coast Guard doesn't know which side of the line the Brits were on.

Good thing that a trusty Iraqi fisherman has stepped forward (to Reuters) with some good solid evidence that resolves this issue quite clearly. ;)

[K8-EEE]

24. Is this the fisherman who saw the doctors slapping jessica lynch?

Or the one who saw the Iraqi troops throwing the babies out of the incubator.

Oh wait, they weren't fishermen, nevermind.

[Toots]

20. Well we can be sure Iran is just looking for an excuuse to go to war with the west..

:crazy: Do you ever think about things before you express yourself?

[K8-EEE]

25. between 2 liars it's hard to know who to believe

I wouldn't trust the Ama-dinnerjacket or Blair as far as I could throw either one of them...6 of one half dozen of the other.

The video doesn't give any clues to the exact whereabouts of the capture I guess? Surely there must be some more credible evidence existing somewhere.

[scarz]

8. we are so going to war for this

what if iran says no, to returning the sailors? what if they hold trials, regarding the illegal trespass of the sailors? what if during the trial the sailors are found guilty of spying or whatever theyre charged with? what if the punishment is death? what if a sailor or sailors, bound by code to attempt escape, does and is killed? all those things are completely within irans right as a soverign nation. all completely and totally within their rights, and its my job to know military affairs. im very good at my job. however, just like the gulf of tonkin, and the last 6 years, the official statement of the administration will be considered absolute truth propagated through the media.
us generals have clearly stated they will resign if we attack iran. the us populace could never allow the us to attack iran. therefore we cannot attack iran. however if "iran" were to kill these soldiers, the uk would certainly declare war. we then as allies would be compelled to follow suit, in a way which generals would not resign and the american people would somewhat understand. im just putting forth the idea, so IF things go down, we might have an oppurtunity to pull back .we are obviously treading in very dangerous waters.

[cali]

9. Nonsense.

We will not go to war over this, and it's nothing like the Gulf of Tonkin. No way will Congress vote for the equivalent of the IWR over this. They aren't even our troops. bushco will not use this as a pretext to strike without a resolution. Even the repukes wouldn't support that. It would end his presidency in quick time.

This will be resolved within days, just as the incident in 2004 was.

[termo]

11. if they were in Iran area...

Then Iran would be right to prosecute them and that is not a casus belli.
Alliances won't work.

[stormymonday]

16. The captured marines were in uniform so can hardly be classed as 'spies'

Whether they should be in Iraq in the first place is another matter.

[kitty1]

26. Likely not spies.But if they were, I don't think they'd be wearing suits..

and ties out there. They'd probably want to make it look like they were legit military inspectors of merchant vessels.

[Psephos]

10. I would probably "confess" too if I had been taken prisoner by those lunatics n/t

[rocktivity]

12. Before or after being "aggressively interrogated?"

:eyes:
rocknation

[sutz12]

14. Perhaps their torture is more 'effective' than ours.....

:sarcasm:

[3waygeek]

21. Obviously, it is...

The Iranians cracked the Brits in only a day. It took us 5 years to crack Khalid Sheik Muhammad.

[Roland99]

13. Will be interesting to see the videos of these "confessions"

[ohio2007]

18. Iran ‘to try Britons for espionage’

<snip>

Iranian student groups called yesterday for the 15 detainees to be held until US forces released five Revolutionary Guards captured in Iraq earlier this year.

Al-Sharq al-Awsat, a Saudi-owned newspaper based in London, quoted an Iranian military source as saying that the aim was to trade the Royal Marines and sailors for these Guards.

The claim was backed by other sources in Tehran. “As soon as the corps’s five members are released, the Britons can go home,” said one source close to the Guards.

<snip>
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article1563877.ece

I wonder how old those Iranian "students" realy are?

[RogueTrooper]

19. Probably

the same age are your average college Republican.

[northzax]

27. please, we all know that it was KSM

I hear he confessed to planning the whole thing.

[Javaman]

28. Curious, has any of the names of the captured Brits been released? nt

[muriel_volestrangler]

29. Certainly not at first, and I don't think since then either

Last night, the Ministry of Defence refused to release the names of the hostages for operational reasons. However, it emphasised that their families and next of kin had been informed.

http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=455672007

I think most families would be glad the names haven't been released, because the British press can be bastards when trying to get a story.

[Baclava]

30. "14 men and 1 woman" ...is all they say

'Captured British Sailors and Marines Being Interrogated by Iran'

"Iran has begun interrogating the 15 British sailors and marines who were detained while entering Iranian waters. Officials have moved the servicemen to an undisclosed location and denied British requests to visit with the 14 men and one woman."

http://www.transworldnews.com/NewsStory.aspx?storyid=14544&ret=news.aspx&cat=Politics

[Javaman]

31. Okay here is my overdrive tinfoil hat theory!!!

The names won't be realized because they weren't supposed to be captured.

so the brits in conjunction with moron* can claim their gulf of tonkins incident.

If they release the names, then the people can be tracked, however if they keep them secret than moron* and the poodle can do anything they like.

AND if the Iranians kill them, then they have their excuse and the bodies can be disposed of via letters to the families indicating that they were killed in action in Iraq rather than in Iran, which is where they weren't officially supposed to be.

why don't they then just release the real names of the people? Seems like a good PR move to gain sympathy for them, however, if they were spooks (which I believe they were)then they are able to keep their identities secret. and keep the cover story they are selling us.

:tinfoilhat:

[muriel_volestrangler]

33. Because the British press are wankers to families

they stake them out, pester them, go through their bins, everything - in search of any kind of story. And then they make things up if the families don't talk.

Some British Embassy staff were kidnapped in Ethiopia a few weeks ago - they didn't release their names until they were back safe. This is fairly normal practice in Britain.

[Javaman]

34. That makes sense. So in other words, the Brits actually care about

their soldiers. :) unlike our administration*

[Eugene]

32. Iran softens stance on British sailors

Source: Associated Press

Iran softens stance on British sailors

By NASSER KARIMI, Associated Press Writer
6 minute ago

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran said Monday it was questioning 15 British sailors
and marines to determine if their alleged entry into Iranian waters was
"intentional or unintentional" before deciding what to do with them —
the first sign it could be seeking a way out of the standoff.

The two countries continued to disagree about where the military
personnel were seized Friday, with Britain insisting they were in Iraqi
waters after searching a civilian cargo vessel and the Tehran regime
saying it had proof they were in Iranian territory.

Britain's Defense Ministry said they were seized in the Shatt al-Arab,
a waterway flowing into the Persian Gulf that marks the border between
Iran and Iraq. But the dividing line in the waterway, known in Iran as
the Arvand river, has long been disputed.

The Iranian emphasis Monday on the detainees' intent was a noticeable
pullback from the certainty expressed Saturday by Iran's military
chief, Gen. Ali Reza Afshar. Afshar said then that the 15 confessed
to "aggression into the Islamic Republic of Iran's waters."

-snip-

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070326/ap_on_re_mi_ea/british_seized_iran