Iranian nuclear plant (archive photo)
Photo: AP
UK media: Iran may use sailors as bargaining chip
Islamic Republic threatening full-blown crisis over ‘invasion of its territorial waters’; The Times says sailors may have been victims of a deliberate ambush by Iran, perhaps seeking to use captives as hostages in stand-off between West over its nuclear program
Iran was holding a group of British sailors it said had illegally entered its waters, threatening a full-blown crisis as the West was set Saturday to tighten sanctions on Tehran for its nuclear program.
Britain has demanded the immediate safe return of the 15 sailors and marines it said were seized Friday in Iraqi territorial waters while conducting "routine" anti-smuggling operations.
Territorial Waters
UK envoy summoned over detentions, as Iranians express displeasure at 'illegal entry' of British vessel into Iranian territory
British newspapers expressed fears the sailors might be used as a bargaining chip as the UN Security Council was set to adopt Saturday a resolution tightening sanctions on Iran over its refusal to halt sensitive nuclear fuel work.
Iran summoned Friday Britain's top diplomat in Tehran to protest what it said was the illegal entry of the British sailors into its waters.
"This makes a number of times that British sailors have illegally entered Iranian territorial waters at Arvand Roud. They were arrested by border guards for investigation and questioning," said an Iranian foreign ministry statement, without saying how many personnel had been seized.
Arvand Roud is the Iranian name for the Shatt al-Arab waterway that separates Iran from Iraq.
Earlier, the British defense ministry had said 15 sailors were seized Friday morning by Iran in Iraqi territorial waters while conducting "routine" anti-smuggling operations.
Following their capture, Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett summoned the Iranian ambassador for what she described as "brisk but polite" talks.
"We have sought a full explanation of what happened and we are leaving them in no doubt that we want the immediate and safe return of our personnel and their equipment," she said in a televised statement.
'Sailors did the right thing'
Although this was not the first time British sailors have been seized by Iran in the waterway between Iraq and Iran, it comes amid a fraught diplomatic climate as the West seeks to press Tehran to curb its nuclear program.
The United States suspects Tehran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear program. The UN Security Council was expected to vote unanimously on tightening sanctions against Iran on Saturday, according to diplomats.
British newspapers expressed concern that Iran would use the sailors as a bargaining chip.
"There were growing fears that the 15 British sailors and Royal Marines were victims of a deliberate ambush by Iran's Revolutionary Guards, perhaps seeking to use the captives as hostages in the increasingly tense stand-off between the West and Iran over its nuclear program," said The Times.
"There is now what looks like a hostage crisis," wrote The Guardian.
"These anti-smuggling patrols are relatively uncontentious, but they represent an opportunity for Iran to grasp.
"The source of a dispute matters less than the leverage Tehran thinks it can extract from it."
The British defense ministry said the 15 naval personnel, based on HMS Cornwall in the Gulf, had completed an inspection of a merchant ship when they and their two boats were surrounded and escorted by Iranian vessels into Iranian territorial waters.
A defense ministry spokesman declined to give further details, but underlined that the British navy was boarding merchant ships in Iraqi waters in support of UN Security Council resolution 1723.
British naval boats routinely patrol the Shatt al-Arab to clamp down on smugglers operating between Iraq and Iran.
A senior Navy commander said he hoped the capture was a "misunderstanding," while admitting that the area where they were detained was disputed.
A senior defense source told the Sun tabloid that the sailors "did the right thing. They were heavily outnumbered and outgunned. There was no point in putting up a fight. No shots were exchanged and from what we understand so far, none of our people have been harmed."
In June 2004, eight British sailors and marines were detained for three days in Iran after being seized during another routine operation. They were paraded blindfold on television and forced to apologize for their "mistake."
On that occasion Iran insisted that the British boats - which it has not yet returned - were intercepted only after they entered Iranian waters on the Shatt al-Arab.
