Britain demands Iran free seized sailors

March 24, 2007, 4:49AM


By ALI AKBAR DAREINI Associated Press Writer
? 2007 The Associated Press

TEHRAN, Iran ? Iran on Saturday insisted that 15 British sailors it seized
had illegally entered Iranian waters, denouncing what it called a "blatant
aggression" and accusing Britain of trying to cover up an incursion into its
territory. The tough comment came after Britain demanded the return of the
sailors and denied they had strayed into Iranian waters while searching for
smugglers off Iraq's coast.
The eight Royal Navy sailors and seven Royal Marines had just searched a
merchant ship when they and their two inflatable boats were intercepted by
Iranian vessels Friday at around 10:30 a.m. near the disputed Shatt al-Arab
waterway, U.S. and British officials said. The Iranian vessels surrounded
them and escorted them away at gunpoint.
The incident came at a time of heightened tensions over Tehran's nuclear
ambitions and allegations that Iran is arming Shiite Muslim militias in
Iraq.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said Iran was
carrying out a "further investigation ... of the blatant aggression."
"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," Hosseini said,
according to the state-run IRNA news agency.
Hosseini described the incident as a "suspicious move" and accused Britain
of trying to cover up the illegal entry.
"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," he said.
Iran summoned the British charge d'affaires to the Foreign Ministry Friday
and demanded an immediate explanation from London and "asked that this not
happen again," according to Iran's state-run television.
Britain, in turn, demanded Tehran release the 15. 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."
Britain's Defense Ministry said the Royal Navy personnel were in Iraqi
territorial waters when they were seized. But the Iraqi military commander
of the country's territorial waters cast doubt on the British claims.
"We were informed by Iraqi fishermen after they had returned from sea that
there were British gunboats in an area that is out of Iraqi control," Brig.
Gen. Hakim Jassim told AP Television News in the southern city of Basra.
"We don't know why they were there. And these British troops were besieged
by unknown gunboats, I don't know from where," he said.
The sailors, from the frigate HMS Cornwall, are part of a task force that
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, known in Iran as Arvandrud, Farsi for
the Arvand River.
The border around the 125-mile-long channel has long been disputed. A 1975
treaty recognized the middle of the waterway as the border. Saddam Hussein
canceled the treaty five years later and invaded Iran, triggering an
eight-year war. Virtually all of Iraq's oil is exported through an oil
terminal near the mouth of the channel.
In June 2004, six British marines and two sailors were seized by Iran in the
same waterway. They were presented blindfolded on Iranian television and
admitted entering Iranian waters illegally, then released unharmed after
three days.
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 incident occurred as the U.N. Security Council debates expanding
sanctions against Iran for refusing to suspend uranium enrichment. A vote
was expected later Saturday. The U.S. and other nations suspect Iran is
trying to produce nuclear weapons. Iran denies that and insists it won't
halt the program.
Iran's leaders also have denied allegations by the U.S., Britain and others
that Iranians are arming Shiite Muslim militias in Iraq.
With tensions running high, the United States has bolstered its naval forces
in the Persian Gulf. A strike group led by the aircraft carrier USS John C.
Stennis recently joined a similar force led by the carrier USS Dwight D.
Eisenhower.
U.S. officials have expressed concern that with so much military hardware in
the Gulf, a small incident like Friday's could escalate into a dangerous
confrontation.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, warned this week that if
Western countries "treat us with threats and enforcement of coercion and
violence, undoubtedly they must know that the Iranian nation and authorities
will use all their capacities to strike enemies that attack."



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