Tuesday, June 22, 2004

Brits in Iranian waters

Well, it wasn't warships after all.

Iran will prosecute eight British naval personnel seized in its waters, state television said on Tuesday, turning what seemed a minor border incident into a serious diplomatic spat.

The British government immediately demanded an explanation from Tehran of the television report. British officials have had neither access to the men, detained on Monday with their three boats, nor told where they are being held.

Quoting unnamed Iranian military sources, Iran's Arabic language news channel al Alam said the men would be prosecuted on charges of "illegally entering Iran's waters."

... Al Alam [television] said their small patrol boats contained weapons, cameras for spying and detailed maps of areas of Iraq and Iran. None of the Britons spoke during the broadcast.

Britain's Defense Ministry said the Britons were involved in training Iraqi police and had been delivering a small craft to the Iraqi Riverine Patrol Service when arrested. The boats carried only the sailors' personal weapons, it said.

Iran's Foreign Ministry has said the men are being interrogated to ascertain why they entered the Iranian side of the narrow Shatt al-Arab waterway separating Iran from Iraq.

A British military source acknowledged the British boats may have strayed into Iranian waters. "It was quite a confused situation. The weather was appalling and this happened in a confined stretch of water," he said.
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Whatever.

A senior Iranian political source said the latest incident reflected internal policy divisions in the Islamic state.

While deeply opposed to the U.S.-led war and occupation of Iraq, Iran has turned a blind eye in the past to minor incursions by foreign aircraft and boats on its western border.

"The government policy is one of tolerance, but some groups are pursuing an isolationist stance," the source said.


Thanks to the war on terror.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

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