DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iranian naval vessels on Friday seized 15 British sailors and marines in disputed Persian Gulf waters off the coast of Iraq, British and U.S. officials said. The detentions come at a time of high tension between the West and Iran, which accused the British of intruding on its territory.
The British government protested immediately, saying the 15 were taken captive in Iraqi waters and summoning the Iranian ambassador in London to the Foreign Office: "He was left in no doubt that we want them back," Britain's Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said after the meeting.
The Britons were assigned to a task force that protects Iraqi oil terminals and maintains security in Iraqi waters under authority of the U.N. Security Council.
A spokesman for the U.S. Navy in Bahrain said the Britons were taken captive just outside a long-disputed waterway called the Shatt al-Arab dividing Iraq and Iran. Friday's detentions came as the Security Council debates further sanctions against Iran over its disputed nuclear program, and amid U.S. allegations that Iran is arming Shiite militias in Iraq.
Iran summoned the top British diplomat in Tehran to protest the British sailors' "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 state TV quoted a foreign ministry official as saying. He was not identified by name.
The 15 seized British soldiers and marines have been "detained by Iran's border authorities for further investigation ... of the blatant aggression into Iranian territorial waters," the official said and demanded an immediate explanation from Britain.
Cmdr. Kevin Aandahl of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet said the Iranian Revolutionary Guards had radioed a British warship explaining that no harm had come to the 15 Britons and that they were seized because they were in Iranian waters. The British Defense Ministry said the Iranians took custody of the sailors and marines in Iraqi waters.
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In June 2004, six British marines and two sailors were seized by Iran in the Shatt al-Arab. They were presented blindfolded on Iranian television and admitted entering Iranian waters illegally, then released unharmed after three days.
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We should not overlook the connections here...just days ago, I blogged about an Intel Summit article which contained the following information:
In an article in Subhi Sadek, the Revolutionary Guard’s weekly paper, Reza Faker, a writer believed to have close links to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, warned that Iran would strike back.Most likely, no harm will come to the soldiers...as it would seem to be more of a political move anyways (i.e. saber rattling).
“We’ve got the ability to capture a nice bunch of blue-eyed blond-haired officers and feed them to our fighting cocks,” he said. “Iran has enough people who can reach the heart of Europe and kidnap Americans and Israelis.”
Having served part of my military service at lookout outpost near a disputed area of the Aegean Sea, I think that I will add my $0.02:
ReplyDeleteTrespassing of a sovereign state's territorial waters happen all the time. In relatively quiet areas (i.e. tension level lower than the Persian Gulf), soldiers observing a sector are not supposed to take any action other than to log the trespass and report it to the chain of command. Recce action by boat, helicopter and perhaps UDT teams are commonplace and take place from both sides. Therefore this incident, with the kidnap/detention of the UK Marines, indicates a more serious level of tension, and, IMHO, is a purely premedicated attempt to escalate violence.
I see your point, but this isn't the first time that Iran has held UK soliders. As noted in the article, back in 2004 soliders were held for several days after being found in the exact same waterway. At which point, they ended up blindfolded on TV...as a sign of Iran's military power, I am sure.
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