TONY Blair was last night facing the prospect of Britain's dispute with the Iranians escalating into an extended hostage crisis, as Tehran refused to rule out the prospect of putting the 15 captured British sailors on trial.As Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett blasted Iran for "sabre-rattling" over the plight of the seized sailors and marines, senior Downing Street officials admitted that Britain had to prepare for "the long haul". The grim prognosis followed nine days of bitter diplomatic wrangling which has failed to bring an end to the row over Iran's claims that the British personnel had encroached into its waters during a routine patrol in the Shatt al-Arab waterway.
It also raises the possibility that Blair's final days in office could be tarnished by an intractable hostage dilemma similar to the 444-day Iran hostage crisis that blighted Jimmy Carter's US presidency in 1979.
"We want to get these people out as quickly as we can," a senior Blair aide said last night. "That is what we are working towards. But it is not easy and we have to accept that these things take time. We must prepare for the long haul."
The dramatic intervention lays bare the growing distress at the highest levels of the British government over the failure of bilateral and international pressure to achieve a breakthrough that would secure freedom for Faye Turney and her 14 male colleagues.
more at link...