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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Blair: Sailors Weren't in Iranian Waters |
| 2007-03-25 |
| BERLIN (AP) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Sunday that the 15 British sailors and marines captured by Iran were not in Iranian waters and warned that Britain viewed their fate as a "fundamental" issue. The group was seized at gunpoint on Friday, and the Foreign Office in London said British officials do not know where Iran is holding them. "It is simply not true that they went into Iranian territorial waters," Blair said at a news conference in Berlin, calling the situation "very serious." "I want to get it resolved in as easy and diplomatic a way as possible," he said, but added he hoped the Iranians "understood how fundamental an issue this is for the British government." Blair's comment, at celebrations for the 50th birthday of the European Union, follows British and European Union demands for Iran to release the 15, who were seized at gunpoint in disputed waters between Iran and Iraq on Friday. Britain and the United States have said the sailors had just completed a search of a civilian vessel in the Iraqi part of the Shatt al Arab waterway when they were intercepted by the Iranian navy. Iran, however, says they illegally entered Iranian waters. Iranian state television reported that its Foreign Ministry called in British Ambassador Geoffrey Adams, "to protest the illegal entry." Britain disputed the Iranian account, saying the meeting was called at the ambassador's request. The capture and detention of the British service personnel risks escalating an already fraught relationship between Iran and the West. The U.N. Security Council of Saturday agreed to moderately tougher sanctions against Iran for its refusal to meet U.N. demands that it halt uranium enrichment. Many in the West fear Tehran's nuclear program is not for power generation but for arms making, a claim Iran denies. The approved sanctions included ban on Iranian arms exports and freezing the assets of 28 additional people and organizations involved in Iran's nuclear and missile programs. About a third of those are linked to the Revolutionary Guard, an elite corps whose navy seized the British sailors and marines. The British Foreign Office said requests for access to the 15 Britons had been denied and officials did not know where they were being held. Iran's Gen. Ali Reza Afshar said Saturday that the seized Britons were taken to Tehran for questioning where they "confessed" to illegally entering Iranian waters. Lord Triesman, a Foreign Office undersecretary who had held talks with Iran's ambassador on Saturday, told Sky News the issue of whether the sailors had strayed into Iranian waters was a technical one. "I've been very clear throughout that the British forces do not ever intentionally enter into Iranian waters," he said. "There's no reason for them to do so, we don't intend to do so and I think people should accept there's good faith in those assertions." "We believe there's good strong evidence that they were in Iraqi water at the time," Triesman said. "That's a technical issue and I think it could be resolved as a technical issue." French President Jacques Chirac expressed support for Britain's position: "It appears clear that these soldiers were not in the Iranian zone at the time." Peter Hain, Britain's Northern Ireland Secretary, described Tehran's refusal to return the sailors as a dangerous development. "It's essential that this occurs and it's essential not just for the well-being of our soldiers but also for stability in the region," he said. |
| Posted by:Dave D. |
| #19 Many Netters have used twangs from GPS Maps to International agreements to prove why the Brits' claims is the more correct, ergo doesn't matter to legalism-happy anti-US Lefties and Radicalists. THE LATTER HAVE ALL BUT DESTROYED ANY CLAIMS OF WANTING THE USA TO BE LIKE, AND TO ADOPT, EURO-SOCIALISTS/SOCIALISM. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2007-03-25 23:49 |
| #18 I believe ya, Tony, therefore as a worthwhile legacy use teeth to bite instead of wasting saliva in wimpish rethorics. According to a report, your own helicopter also witnessed this nighttime outrage. |
| Posted by: Duh! 2007-03-25 23:17 |
| #17 If they weren't in Iranian waters, I presume they were in Iraqi waters (unless they were waaaaaay out to sea). So we have an act of war by Iran against Iraq. They could speed this process along, I think. |
| Posted by: Jackal 2007-03-25 21:39 |
| #16 If Her Majesty's elected Ministers cannot defend the Realm - if Her armed forces cannot even defend themselves - it is time to dismiss Parliament and rule by Privy Council. Time to sweep out the stables. First, all men and equipment to be returned within 24 hours. After that, they are to be declared missing and presumed dead and all Iranian shipping is to be designated as a pirate fleet. Escalating consequences up to an including a nuclear attack on Qom are to follow. Second, all enemy aliens in the UK are to be interned and their property seized prior to deportation. As a short-hand, if you or any of your relations by birth are named "Mohammad" you are to be shown the door. Protesters are to be considered in a state of insurrection and to be shot on sight. Third, all university arts and social science department faculty are to be fired. The BBC is to be closed pending privatization. All press are to be subject to war-time censorship. None of this is going to happen in the short term, of course. But if once again our elected representatives fail us, our history, our civilization and all our sons and daughters to come after then the day I will sound reasonable to my fellow subjects will come all the sooner. I only hope that by the time Her Majesty or her grand-son realize they have no choice but to act it will not be too late. All I see now is a nation of slaves begging for the Moor's knife at their throats. |
| Posted by: Excalibur 2007-03-25 17:51 |
| #15 Have the US and UK had enough time to round up or otherwise neutralize Hizballah cells --based on info provided by the recently defected iranian General? This could be a desperate move by Iran to provoke war before most of their terrorist cells have been destroyed. Then possibly Tony Blair may be delaying military action until his domestic forces tell him they've neutered a sufficient number of cells. |
| Posted by: Kalle (kafir forever) 2007-03-25 17:47 |
| #14 Just so, Zenster, but it appears that Blair feels he can no longer walk the talk, and as a result is completely incapacitated. |
| Posted by: regular joe 2007-03-25 16:03 |
| #13 Blair: Sailors Weren't in Iranian Waters Well, alrighty then, this makes Iran's actions and act of war now, doesn't it? What about it, Tony? Will you respond accordingly with respect to your own statements? Blair has this one last chance to make good on the superb oration he put forth at the Global War on Terrorism's onset. His legacy is riding upon the outcome of this situation. Should he opt for negotiation, it will forever neuter his efficacy in such a role at all points in the future. There are times when a statesman must lay aside all peaceful options knowing that they represent an inappropriate response to what confronts his nation. This is such an occasion and Blair's personal reputation must forever after be poisoned should he decline to answer with military force against Iran's thugs. The safety of all British people, at home and abroad, hinge upon a swift and unmistakable military reply. Otherwise, through his inaction, Blair will have sewn a bulls-eye onto the back of every living Briton. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-03-25 15:54 |
| #12 Qatar's Peninsula News quotes an Iraqi fisherman who saw the incident as saying they were in Iraqi waters - as if it matters - this was an act of war |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-03-25 15:46 |
| #11 "Vice President Dick Cheney Allegedly Offers to Trade Jimmah Carter for British Hostages" Terrific. Now I gotta find a cloth to wipe down my monitor... |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2007-03-25 15:38 |
| #10 It'd be a dream come true RD |
| Posted by: devilstoenail 2007-03-25 15:36 |
| #9 Vice President Dick Cheney Allegedly Offers to Trade Jimmah Carter for British Hostages (2007-03-25) — A source close to Dick Cheney said today that the vice president has suggested freeing 15 British sailors and marines from Iranian captivity by trading former President Jimmy Carter for the hostages. by Scott Ott |
| Posted by: RD 2007-03-25 15:13 |
| #8 Out of curiousity: If they wanted to show the world - objectively, indisputably - that their boats weren't in Iranian waters, how would they do that? Satellite photo? UAV? |
| Posted by: Geoffro 2007-03-25 14:57 |
| #7 Seems to me there's some kind of clause in the NATO framework, that if one nation were attacked, it would be viewed as an attack on all NATO countries. I recall that this only operates if the attack is on the NATO member's home territory. |
| Posted by: Angie Schultz 2007-03-25 14:18 |
| #6 I wonder if the Brits will declare their capture an act of piracy? If they do, it invokes all sorts of interesting international treaties and conventions. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2007-03-25 14:00 |
| #5 Seems to me there's some kind of clause in the NATO framework, that if one nation were attacked, it would be viewed as an attack on all NATO countries. I think it's time to implement that clause. Iran has perpetrated an act of war against Britain. All NATO countries, through the NATO commander, should issue an ultimatum that the British sailors be returned to Iraq within 24 hours, unharmed, or the NATO alliance will attack Iran and all its assets, regardless of where in the world they are. Then follow through. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2007-03-25 13:24 |
| #4 "Diplomacy grows from the barrel of a gun" remember that quote Tony? USE IT, STOP TALKING AND START SHOOTING IF YOU EVER WANT TO SEE YOUR SAILORS AGAIN, |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2007-03-25 12:08 |
| #3 Peter screw stability of the region, somebody anybody needs to slap Iran down so hard that Iman from the well will think 4 times before thinking of coming out. |
| Posted by: djohn66 2007-03-25 11:43 |
| #2 Yeah, easy and diplomatic way, that's the ticket. Watch out for Fleet Street Tony, you might be gone quicker than you think. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2007-03-25 11:41 |
| #1 iran is just asking for an ass kickings aren't they |
| Posted by: sinse 2007-03-25 11:28 |