D
Dr. Jai Maharaj
Guest
Britain demands Iran free seized sailors
By Ali Akbar Dareini
Associated Press Writer
The Associated Press
Tehran, Iran - Iran on Saturday insisted that 15 British
sailors it seized had illegally entered Iranian waters,
denouncing what it called a "blatant aggression" and
accusing Britain of trying to cover up an incursion into
its territory. The tough comment came after Britain
demanded the return of the sailors and denied they had
strayed into Iranian waters while searching for smugglers
off Iraq's coast.
The eight Royal Navy sailors and seven Royal Marines had
just searched a merchant ship when they and their two
inflatable boats were intercepted by Iranian vessels Friday
at around 10:30 a.m. near the disputed Shatt al-Arab
waterway, U.S. and British officials said. The Iranian
vessels surrounded them and escorted them away at gunpoint.
The incident came at a time of heightened tensions over
Tehran's nuclear ambitions and allegations that Iran is
arming Shiite Muslim militias in Iraq.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini
said Iran was carrying out a "further investigation ... of
the blatant aggression."
"Violating the sovereign boundaries of other states and
illegal entry denote unusual goals in violation of
international commitments, the responsibility for which
cannot be evaded under any justification," Hosseini said,
according to the state-run IRNA news agency.
Hosseini described the incident as a "suspicious move" and
accused Britain of trying to cover up the illegal entry.
"The British officials instead of making up for their
blunders should try to refrain from putting the blame on
others by way of irrelevant interpretations," he said.
Iran summoned the British charge d'affaires to the Foreign
Ministry Friday and demanded an immediate explanation from
London and "asked that this not happen again," according to
Iran's state-run television.
Britain, in turn, demanded Tehran release the 15. In
London, the British government summoned the Iranian
ambassador to the Foreign Office, and Foreign Secretary
Margaret Beckett said he "was left in no doubt that we want
them back."
Britain's Defense Ministry said the Royal Navy personnel
were in Iraqi territorial waters when they were seized. But
the Iraqi military commander of the country's territorial
waters cast doubt on the British claims.
"We were informed by Iraqi fishermen after they had
returned from sea that there were British gunboats in an
area that is out of Iraqi control," Brig. Gen. Hakim Jassim
told AP Television News in the southern city of Basra.
"We don't know why they were there. And these British
troops were besieged by unknown gunboats, I don't know from
where," he said.
The sailors, from the frigate HMS Cornwall, are part of a
task force that maintains security in Iraqi waters under
authority of the U.N. Security Council.
The Cornwall's commander, Commodore Nick Lambert, said the
frigate lost communication with the boarding party, but a
helicopter crew saw Iranian naval vessels approach.
"I've got 15 sailors and marines who have been arrested by
the Iranians and my immediate concern is their safety," he
told British Broadcasting Corp. television.
Lambert said he hoped it was a "simple mistake" stemming
from the long dispute between Iraq and Iran over
demarcating their territorial waters just off the mouth of
the Shatt al-Arab, known in Iran as Arvandrud, Farsi for
the Arvand River.
The border around the 125-mile-long channel has long been
disputed. A 1975 treaty recognized the middle of the
waterway as the border. Saddam Hussein canceled the treaty
five years later and invaded Iran, triggering an eight-year
war. Virtually all of Iraq's oil is exported through an oil
terminal near the mouth of the channel.
In June 2004, six British marines and two sailors were
seized by Iran in the same waterway. They were presented
blindfolded on Iranian television and admitted entering
Iranian waters illegally, then released unharmed after
three days.
White House press secretary Tony Snow said the Bush
administration was monitoring events. "The British
government is demanding the immediate safe return of the
people and equipment and we are keeping watch on the
situation," Snow said.
The incident occurred as the U.N. Security Council debates
expanding sanctions against Iran for refusing to suspend
uranium enrichment. A vote was expected later Saturday. The
U.S. and other nations suspect Iran is trying to produce
nuclear weapons. Iran denies that and insists it won't halt
the program.
Iran's leaders also have denied allegations by the U.S.,
Britain and others that Iranians are arming Shiite Muslim
militias in Iraq.
With tensions running high, the United States has bolstered
its naval forces in the Persian Gulf. A strike group led by
the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis recently joined a
similar force led by the carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.
U.S. officials have expressed concern that with so much
military hardware in the Gulf, a small incident like
Friday's could escalate into a dangerous confrontation.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, warned this
week that if Western countries "treat us with threats and
enforcement of coercion and violence, undoubtedly they must
know that the Iranian nation and authorities will use all
their capacities to strike enemies that attack."
More at:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/4658315.html
Jai Maharaj
http://tinyurl.com/yhjyp5
http://www.mantra.com/jai
http://www.mantra.com/jyotish
Om Shanti
Hindu Holocaust Museum
http://www.mantra.com/holocaust
Hindu life, principles, spirituality and philosophy
http://www.hindu.org
http://www.hindunet.org
The truth about Islam and Muslims
http://www.flex.com/~jai/satyamevajayate
o Not for commercial use. Solely to be fairly used for the educational
purposes of research and open discussion. The contents of this post may not
have been authored by, and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the
poster. The contents are protected by copyright law and the exemption for
fair use of copyrighted works.
o If you send private e-mail to me, it will likely not be read,
considered or answered if it does not contain your full legal name, current
e-mail and postal addresses, and live-voice telephone number.
o Posted for information and discussion. Views expressed by others are
not necessarily those of the poster who may or may not have read the article.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This article may contain copyrighted material the use of
which may or may not have been specifically authorized by the copyright
owner. This material is being made available in efforts to advance the
understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic,
democratic, scientific, social, and cultural, etc., issues. It is believed
that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title
17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without
profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included
information for research, comment, discussion and educational purposes by
subscribing to USENET newsgroups or visiting web sites. For more information
go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this article for purposes of
your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the
copyright owner.
By Ali Akbar Dareini
Associated Press Writer
The Associated Press
Tehran, Iran - Iran on Saturday insisted that 15 British
sailors it seized had illegally entered Iranian waters,
denouncing what it called a "blatant aggression" and
accusing Britain of trying to cover up an incursion into
its territory. The tough comment came after Britain
demanded the return of the sailors and denied they had
strayed into Iranian waters while searching for smugglers
off Iraq's coast.
The eight Royal Navy sailors and seven Royal Marines had
just searched a merchant ship when they and their two
inflatable boats were intercepted by Iranian vessels Friday
at around 10:30 a.m. near the disputed Shatt al-Arab
waterway, U.S. and British officials said. The Iranian
vessels surrounded them and escorted them away at gunpoint.
The incident came at a time of heightened tensions over
Tehran's nuclear ambitions and allegations that Iran is
arming Shiite Muslim militias in Iraq.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini
said Iran was carrying out a "further investigation ... of
the blatant aggression."
"Violating the sovereign boundaries of other states and
illegal entry denote unusual goals in violation of
international commitments, the responsibility for which
cannot be evaded under any justification," Hosseini said,
according to the state-run IRNA news agency.
Hosseini described the incident as a "suspicious move" and
accused Britain of trying to cover up the illegal entry.
"The British officials instead of making up for their
blunders should try to refrain from putting the blame on
others by way of irrelevant interpretations," he said.
Iran summoned the British charge d'affaires to the Foreign
Ministry Friday and demanded an immediate explanation from
London and "asked that this not happen again," according to
Iran's state-run television.
Britain, in turn, demanded Tehran release the 15. In
London, the British government summoned the Iranian
ambassador to the Foreign Office, and Foreign Secretary
Margaret Beckett said he "was left in no doubt that we want
them back."
Britain's Defense Ministry said the Royal Navy personnel
were in Iraqi territorial waters when they were seized. But
the Iraqi military commander of the country's territorial
waters cast doubt on the British claims.
"We were informed by Iraqi fishermen after they had
returned from sea that there were British gunboats in an
area that is out of Iraqi control," Brig. Gen. Hakim Jassim
told AP Television News in the southern city of Basra.
"We don't know why they were there. And these British
troops were besieged by unknown gunboats, I don't know from
where," he said.
The sailors, from the frigate HMS Cornwall, are part of a
task force that maintains security in Iraqi waters under
authority of the U.N. Security Council.
The Cornwall's commander, Commodore Nick Lambert, said the
frigate lost communication with the boarding party, but a
helicopter crew saw Iranian naval vessels approach.
"I've got 15 sailors and marines who have been arrested by
the Iranians and my immediate concern is their safety," he
told British Broadcasting Corp. television.
Lambert said he hoped it was a "simple mistake" stemming
from the long dispute between Iraq and Iran over
demarcating their territorial waters just off the mouth of
the Shatt al-Arab, known in Iran as Arvandrud, Farsi for
the Arvand River.
The border around the 125-mile-long channel has long been
disputed. A 1975 treaty recognized the middle of the
waterway as the border. Saddam Hussein canceled the treaty
five years later and invaded Iran, triggering an eight-year
war. Virtually all of Iraq's oil is exported through an oil
terminal near the mouth of the channel.
In June 2004, six British marines and two sailors were
seized by Iran in the same waterway. They were presented
blindfolded on Iranian television and admitted entering
Iranian waters illegally, then released unharmed after
three days.
White House press secretary Tony Snow said the Bush
administration was monitoring events. "The British
government is demanding the immediate safe return of the
people and equipment and we are keeping watch on the
situation," Snow said.
The incident occurred as the U.N. Security Council debates
expanding sanctions against Iran for refusing to suspend
uranium enrichment. A vote was expected later Saturday. The
U.S. and other nations suspect Iran is trying to produce
nuclear weapons. Iran denies that and insists it won't halt
the program.
Iran's leaders also have denied allegations by the U.S.,
Britain and others that Iranians are arming Shiite Muslim
militias in Iraq.
With tensions running high, the United States has bolstered
its naval forces in the Persian Gulf. A strike group led by
the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis recently joined a
similar force led by the carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.
U.S. officials have expressed concern that with so much
military hardware in the Gulf, a small incident like
Friday's could escalate into a dangerous confrontation.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, warned this
week that if Western countries "treat us with threats and
enforcement of coercion and violence, undoubtedly they must
know that the Iranian nation and authorities will use all
their capacities to strike enemies that attack."
More at:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/4658315.html
Jai Maharaj
http://tinyurl.com/yhjyp5
http://www.mantra.com/jai
http://www.mantra.com/jyotish
Om Shanti
Hindu Holocaust Museum
http://www.mantra.com/holocaust
Hindu life, principles, spirituality and philosophy
http://www.hindu.org
http://www.hindunet.org
The truth about Islam and Muslims
http://www.flex.com/~jai/satyamevajayate
o Not for commercial use. Solely to be fairly used for the educational
purposes of research and open discussion. The contents of this post may not
have been authored by, and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the
poster. The contents are protected by copyright law and the exemption for
fair use of copyrighted works.
o If you send private e-mail to me, it will likely not be read,
considered or answered if it does not contain your full legal name, current
e-mail and postal addresses, and live-voice telephone number.
o Posted for information and discussion. Views expressed by others are
not necessarily those of the poster who may or may not have read the article.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This article may contain copyrighted material the use of
which may or may not have been specifically authorized by the copyright
owner. This material is being made available in efforts to advance the
understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic,
democratic, scientific, social, and cultural, etc., issues. It is believed
that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title
17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without
profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included
information for research, comment, discussion and educational purposes by
subscribing to USENET newsgroups or visiting web sites. For more information
go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this article for purposes of
your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the
copyright owner.
