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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Iran Questions EU's 'Illogical' Support For Britain Over Sailors |
| 2007-04-01 |
| "Great Britain can count on the tight and unconditional support of all Europeans," [German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter] Steinmeier said. "We expressed this also toward our British colleague. And we advised them to seek consultations with Tehran, which I discussed with [EU foreign-policy chief] Javier Solana, in order to find a fast solution." "Tight and unconditional support". France has already stated that only dialog is permissible, and a call for trade sanctions against Iran were tabled. Well done, Chocolate Makers! Britain says its evidence shows the British sailors were in Iraqi waters on March 23 when Iranian warships surrounded their boats. Since then Iranian television has aired footage of one of the 15 British sailors apologizing for the ship entering Iranian waters. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini appeared on television March 31, telling the European Union they had the facts wrong and that anyway the EU had no place in the dispute, which is just between Tehran and London. "We suggest that European officials and EU officials that they pay attention to evidence and existing documents before illogically supporting the British government," Hosseini said. "It [the foreign ministry] also warned the European Union to avoid issuing baseless statements and interfering in an issue, which is a bilateral issue between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the British government and asked them to encourage the British government to find bilateral solutions to solve the issue. It also asked them to avoid [taking] any actions that would cause the issue to become more complicated and take a longer time [to be resolved]." Two matters of interest here: 1) Persian emphasis on "bilateral relations" between the UK and Iran. a) The UK inspection regime is conducted under a UN mandate - This is an Iranian assault on the authority of the UN Security Council. b) An attempt by the Iranian government to dissolve bonds of alliance between Britain and its Coalition partners. c) Demoralize the British people and their ruling class. 2) The Iranian ballistic missile program and its nuclear weapons program proceed. Sooner rather than later, every EU country will be within range of Iranian ballistic missiles. Contemptuous remarks delivered by a Persian foreign minister to Europe will be backed by the capability of delivering nuclear warheads to Europe's capitals. Speaking at Camp David on March 31, U.S. President George Bush called on Iran to unconditionally release the wrongfully detained British sailors. "The Iranians must give back the hostages," Bush said. "They're innocent, they did nothing wrong, and they were summarily plucked out of water. As I say, it's inexcusable behavior." As for the British sailors, Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki said today on state television that "Iran is waiting for a change of behavior by Britain and a balanced stance by this country over our legal demands." Mottaki did not specify what a change of behavior meant, but on March 31 Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad called Britain "arrogant" and said he expected an official apology from London. The only proper answer to give Iran would be an iron-clad promise to increase defense spending by 50%+. There are no statesmen or women in Britain today. Too bad. |
| Posted by:mrp |
| #3 #2 Nope, it'll be our fault. If they keep undermining us politically, economically, and in every other sphere they can play in, they may just be right. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2007-04-01 21:42 |
| #2 Nope, it'll be our fault. |
| Posted by: anonymous2u 2007-04-01 13:36 |
| #1 Maybe that's what it's going to take: a nuclear weapon delivered on Brussels or Marseilles or Birmingham. Maybe after that the Europeans will wake up. Maybe. |
| Posted by: Mac 2007-04-01 11:02 |