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Iran detains UK naval vessels
Communications with three Royal Navy vessels and eight sailors seized by Iran have been lost. A British military spokesman said the craft, which entered Iran's territorial waters, cannot be contacted. Eight British sailors have been arrested by Iran. The seacraft were detained near the Iraqi border after, said Iran, they had entered its waters without permission. A spokesman for the officially-appointed Iranian Revolutionary Guards said: "We got news that a number of foreign vessels entered Iranian waters without permission. Three boats were guided to Iranian shores and more than five crew were arrested." Iranian naval sources told the country's media eight British crew were arrested after their vessels were found to contain weapons and maps. One station said the crew had confessed to making "a mistake" and that the three vessels had been confiscated by the Iranian navy. The confrontation was said to have taken place in the Shatt al Arab stretch of water between Iraq and Iran. Sky News' Foreign Editor Tim Marshall said: "Iran is making a point to Britain probably, and that point is 'back off'." He added that Iran may be using the incident as a bargaining tool against British-backed UN demands on its nuclear programme. A spokesman for the British Ministry of Defence said it was investigating the reports. Posted by: Lux 2004-06-21 |
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