Brits taken hostage by Iran

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Reba

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Iranian Vessels Seize 15 British Navy Personnel in Iraqi Waters

Friday , March 23, 2007

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates —
Naval forces of Iran's hardline Revolutionary Guards captured 15 British sailors and marines at gunpoint Friday in the Persian Gulf — an audacious move coming during heightened tensions between the West and Iran.

U.S. and British officials said a boarding party from the frigate HMS Cornwall was seized about 10:30 a.m. during a routine inspection of a merchant ship inside Iraqi territorial waters near the disputed Shatt al-Arab waterway.

Iran's Foreign Ministry insisted the Britons were operating in Iranian waters and would be held "for further investigation," Iranian state television said.

A U.S. Navy official in Bahrain, Cmdr. Kevin Aandahl, said Iran's Revolutionary Guard naval forces were responsible and had broadcast a brief radio message saying the British party was not harmed.

In London, the British government summoned the Iranian ambassador to the Foreign Office, and Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said he "was left in no doubt that we want them back."

Iranian TV quoted an Iranian Foreign Ministry official as saying the top British diplomat in Tehran had been called in to receive Tehran's protest of the "illegal entry" into Iranian waters.

"This is not the first time that British military personnel during the occupation of Iraq have entered illegally into Iran's territorial waters," the unidentified official was quoted as saying.

Britain's Defense Ministry said the Royal Navy personnel were "engaged in routine boarding operations of merchant shipping in Iraqi territorial waters" and had completed a ship inspection when they were accosted by Iranian vessels.

The eight Royal Navy sailors and seven Royal Marines were part of a task force that protects Iraqi oil terminals and maintains security in Iraqi waters under authority of the U.N. Security Council.

The Cornwall's commander, Commodore Nick Lambert, said the frigate lost communication with the boarding party, but a helicopter crew saw Iranian naval vessels approach.

"I've got 15 sailors and marines who have been arrested by the Iranians and my immediate concern is their safety," he told British Broadcasting Corp. television.

Lambert said he hoped it was a "simple mistake" stemming from the long dispute between Iraq and Iran over demarcating their territorial waters just off the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab, a waterway that divides the two countries.

White House press secretary Tony Snow said the Bush administration was monitoring events. "The British government is demanding the immediate safe return of the people and equipment and we are keeping watch on the situation," Snow said...

...The seizure of two Royal Navy inflatable boats took place just outside the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab waterway, a 125-mile channel dividing Iraq from Iran. Its name means Arab Coastline in Arabic, and Iranians call it Arvandrud — Persian for Arvand River....
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FOXNews.com - Iranian Official: Detained British Sailors Are Not Bargaining Chips - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News
 
Iranian Official: Detained British Sailors Are Not Bargaining Chips

Monday , March 26, 2007

LONDON —
Iran is not aiming to swap the 15 British sailors it detained for the five Iranians arrested in northern Iraq, the deputy foreign minister was quoted as saying on state television on Monday.

In comments read out by a newscaster, Deputy Foreign Minister Mehzi Mostafavi did not say what Iran plans to do with the British sailors, but he said they were being interrogated.

"It should become clear whether their entry (into Iran) was intentional or unintentional. After that is clarified, the necessary decision will be made," Mostafavi said.

He rejected British claims that the sailors were in Iraqi waters when the Iranian navy seized them on Friday.

"Iran has enough evidence to prove that the British Forces personnel were detained in Iranian waters," he said. He added that the British government was accountable for their actions.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair warned Iran on Sunday that he regarded the seizure of the 15 sailors as "very serious."

"It is simply is not true that they went into Iranian territorial waters," Blair told reporters while on a visit to Berlin.

Britain, supported by the European Union and the United States, says the sailors, who include a woman, were seized at gunpoint after they had searched a civilian vessel in the Iraqi part of the Shatt al Arab waterway.

Iran has long contested the international frontier in the Shatt al Arab and says the sailors had trespassed in a "blatant aggression."

Reports in the British, Israeli and Saudi media on Sunday suggested that Iran was hoping to trade the Britons for Iranian officials it claims have been abducted by the West in recent months.

U.S. forces in Iraq are detaining five Iranian officials who were captured at an Iranian liaison office in Irbil, the capital of the Kurdish self-ruled region of Iraq. The Iranians are suspected of helping to provide arms and money to insurgents.

In its 2:30 p.m. news broadcast, state TV said: "Mostafi rejected claims that Iran intends to exchange British Force personnel with the kidnapped Iranian diplomats in Iraq."

The capture of the British sailors and marines was not the first time Iranians have taken Western forces by surprise in the border area.

In June 2004, six British marines and two sailors were captured, then paraded blindfolded on Iranian television. They admitted they had entered Iranian waters illegally but were released unharmed after three days.

Britain and the EU have been pushing hard diplomatically for Iran to release the sailors, but their detention comes at a time of high tension between the West and Iran. On Saturday, the U.N. Security Council imposed additional sanctions on Iran for its refusal to stop uranium enrichment, a process that produces the fuel for power stations or the material for atomic bombs.
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FOXNews.com - Iranian Official: Detained British Sailors Are Not Bargaining Chips - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News

This is a very bad situation. :mad:
 
crap Iran is cheap.....take bait 15 British troops for negotiate to try remove scandal imports due nuclear probe.....pfffttttt
 
Indeed a bad situation, one with the tendency to let some critical and sensitive issues to abruptly explode..which I surely hope it doesn't come down to that.






~RR
 
Oh, that's so bad situation. :pissed:

Go America and destroy ALL part of Iran because they made many mistake, that TOO MANY mistake for them. :roll:
 
Oh I'm sorry but I have to point this out.

Your signature: Proud to be... anti-Bush
Your comment: Go America and destroy ALL part of Iran...

Those two do not really go together.
 
update:

U.N. Security Council Issues Statement of 'Grave Concern' Over Iran's Seizure of 15 British Troops
March 29, 2007

UNITED NATIONS —
After marathon negotiations, the U.N. Security Council agreed late Thursday afternoon on a watered-down press statement expressing "grave concern" at Iran's capture of 15 British sailors and marines and calling for an early resolution of the problem, including their release.

Primarily because of Russian opposition, Britain failed to win council support for a stronger statement that would "deplore" Iran's detention of the Britons and call for their immediate release.

A press statement is the weakest action the council can take, but the statement must be approved by all 15 council members. A presidential statement, unlike a press statement, also needs consensus but is read at a formal Security Council meeting and becomes part of its official record.

Iran, meanwhile, tried to turn one of the captured sailors, a 26-year-old British mother, into a propaganda pawn, releasing what it claims is a letter from her in which she admits and apologizes for "wrongdoing."

Tehran also issued a veiled threat of trials if Britain does not admit the military personnel were in its territorial waters.

Iran's foreign minister had said Tehran would free Faye Turney, a young mother and the only woman among the 15 sailors and marines seized last week while searching a merchant vessel off the coast of Iraq but in what Iran claims were its territorial waters.

But Gen. Ali Reza Afshar, Iran's military chief, said that because of the "wrong behavior" by the British government, "the release of a female British soldier has been suspended," the semiofficial Iranian news agency Mehr reported.

Iranian negotiator Ali Larijani also told state television that British leaders "have miscalculated this issue" and if they follow through with threats, the case "may face a legal path" — presumably putting the Britons on trial.

Iranian state television broadcast a few seconds of video Thursday that it said was of the operation that seized the British sailors and marines.

In the five-second video, a helicopter is seen hovering above inflatable boats in choppy seas. Then, the Royal Navy sailors and marines appear seated in an Iranian vessel, presumably after their capture.

The video also displayed what appeared to be a handwritten letter from Turney, 26, to her family.

"I have written a letter to the Iranian people to apologize for us entering their waters," it said. The letter also asks Turney's parents in Britain to look after her 3-year-old daughter, Molly, and her husband, Adam.

Analysts immediately doubted the validity of the letter, saying the wording was not likely to have been thought up by the 26-year-old sailor.

The video showed Turney in a head scarf and her uniform eating with other sailors and marines. Later, wearing a white tunic and black head scarf, she sat in a room before floral curtains and smoked a cigarette.

Turney was the only detainee shown speaking, saying she had been in the navy for nine years.

"Obviously we trespassed into their waters," Turney said at one point. "They were very friendly and very hospitable, very thoughtful, nice people. They explained to us why we've been arrested. There was no harm, no aggression."

Britain angrily denounced the video as unacceptable and froze most dealings with Iran.

"Nobody should be put in that position. It is an impossible position to be put in," said Blair's spokesman, who spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with government policy. "It is wrong. It is wrong in terms of the usual conventions that cover this. It is wrong in terms of basic humanity."

The third Geneva Convention bans subjecting prisoners of war to intimidation, insults or "public curiosity." Because there is no armed conflict between Iran and Britain, the captives would not technically be classified as prisoners of war.

Britain's ambassador to Tehran lodged an official complaint, the Foreign Office said.

Britain insists that the vessel and its naval personnel were in Iraqi waters, and that satellite positions prove it, but Iran says the Britons were seized in its territorial waters, and claims it has satellite proof as well.

Iran's foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, told The Associated Press on the sidelines of an Arab summit in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday that Britain must admit that its sailors entered Iranian waters for the standoff to be resolved.

But Britain's Foreign Office insisted on Thursday that the crew was seized in an Iraqi-controlled area and no admission would be forthcoming.

During initial closed-door discussions in the council on Thursday afternoon, diplomats said, several council members had problems with the British draft, including Russia and Indonesia.

Russia, which has strong commercial links with Tehran, raised serious objections to the thrust of the British statement — deploring Iran's actions, stating that the incident took place in Iraqi waters and demanding the immediate release of the Britons, the diplomats said.

Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, who emerged briefly, said only that he had made "constructive suggestions" and hoped members could agree on a statement.

In addition to taking the issue to the Security Council, Britain enlisted international help to free the captives.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon discussed their fate with Mottaki over breakfast Thursday on the sidelines of the Arab summit that both were attending. Ban called for an early resolution of the problem, the U.N. spokesman's office said.

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana urged Iran to free the captives, saying the standoff is blocking efforts to improve relations. In Paris, the Foreign Ministry summoned the Iranian ambassador to express concern and urge their release.

In Iraq, the Iranian consul in Basra charged that British soldiers on Thursday had surrounded his office and fired shots into the air. The Ministry of Defense in London said the shooting was an exchange of gunfire after British troops on a foot patrol near the Iranian consulate were ambushed.

But Iranian Consul-General Mohammed Ridha Nasir Baghban said British forces had engaged in a "provocative act" that "could worsen the situation of the British sailors."

"British forces should rely on wisdom and not react because of the British forces' detention. This reflects negatively on bilateral relations," Baghban told AP.
FOXNews.com - U.N. Security Council Issues Statement of 'Grave Concern' Over Iran's Seizure of 15 British Troops - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News
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Did anyone really believe the Iranians would free the woman? :roll:
 
The Brits should have given more military support to the 15-member group before the were captured.

The Brits should have never allowed the Iranian ship to go back to Iran's waters and port. I knew if the Iranian ship made it to port, that was the end of a chance for the sailors and marines. The displaying of them, the false "confessions", and the threats of a "trial" are no surprise. That is their standard procedure. Also standard is their backing out of their word; they love to tease with promises they have no intention of keeping.

Interesting how there is very little complaining about the Iranians forcing the British woman to wear a head scarf. Can you imagine the uproar if the prisoners at Gitmo were forced to wear crucifixes?
 
The videos of the British sailors and marines is sickening.

Every time I see one of those videos, I'm reminded of the American military Code of Conduct. This is the version that was in effect when I was on active duty:

CODE OF CONDUCT FOR THE U. S. FIGHTING MAN​

1. I am an American fighting man. I serve in the forces which guard my country and our way of life. I am prepared to give my life in their defense.

2. I will never surrender of my own free will. If in command, I will never surrender my men while they still have the means to resist.

3. If I am captured, I will continue to resist by all means available. I will make every effort to escape and aid others to escape. I will accept neither parole nor special favors from the enemy.

4. If I become a prisoner of war, I will keep faith with my fellow prisoners. I will give no information, or take part in any action which might be harmful to my comrades. If I am senior, I will take command. If not, I will obey the lawful orders of those appointed over me and will back them up in every way.

5. When questioned, should I become a prisoner of war, I am bound to give only name, rank, service number and date of birth. I will evade answering further questions to the utmost of my ability. I will make no oral or written statements disloyal to my country and its allies or harmful to their cause.

6. I will never forget that I am an American fighting man, responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free. I will trust in my God and in the United States of America.
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I don't like seeing them wearing Iranian warm up suits instead of their uniforms. Also, they're barefooted, and the woman is always wearing a scarf. They look way too comfortable in their captivity. That's not a good sign. :mad:

I don't know what kind of duress they're under, so I can't judge their actions. But it's very disturbing to see them make all these so-called "confessions".

I know it's too late now but the British rules of engagement that allowed their people to be captured in the first place were pitiful. It reminded me of the policy that was in effect when the USS Cole was attacked.

Rules of engagement

The destroyer's rules of engagement, as approved by the Pentagon, kept its guards from firing upon the small boat loaded with explosives as it neared them without first obtaining permission from the Cole's captain or another officer. Petty Officer John Washak said that right after the blast, a senior chief petty officer ordered him to turn an M-60 machine gun on the Cole's fantail away from a second small boat approaching. "With blood still on my face," he said, he was told: "That's the rules of engagement: no shooting unless we're shot at." He added, "In the military, it's like we're trained to hesitate now. If somebody had seen something wrong and shot, he probably would have been court-martialed." Petty Officer Jennifer Kudrick said that if the sentries had fired on the suicide craft "we would have gotten in more trouble for shooting two foreigners than losing seventeen American sailors."
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USS Cole bombing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Weak Rules of Engagement :rifle:
 
It looks like the Brits will soon be home. I hope so! :)
 
Very interesting live press conference in England. The sailors and marines confirmed that all their statements had been made under duress, and that they had never violated Iranian waters.
 
i had a funny feeling about this.. somethings not right.. it doesn't mean that we can trust them completely when they send the brits home
 
Is there more information on what they confessed during duress?
 
Reba said:
Interesting how there is very little complaining about the Iranians forcing the British woman to wear a head scarf. Can you imagine the uproar if the prisoners at Gitmo were forced to wear crucifixes?
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While I don't know too much of the situation, the headscarf is pretty much expected for any woman who enters Iran and other Islamic countries. Female reporters who venture into the region often wear their headscarf to respect their laws/culture and for modesty purposes.
 
Yiffzer said:
While I don't know too much of the situation, the headscarf is pretty much expected for any woman who enters Iran and other Islamic countries. Female reporters who venture into the region often wear their headscarf to respect their laws/culture and for modesty purposes.
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The issue is, was it voluntary or forced? Was she wearing it out of respect or fear?
 
Yiffzer said:
Is there more information on what they confessed during duress?
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I haven't hear more since that press conference.

I've been away from the TV and computer for a while (all day Saturday) so I might be behind in the news. :dunno:
 
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