Iran defiantly rebuffed international demands on Saturday for the release of 15 seized British naval personnel, claiming that the sailors and marines had confessed to entering its waters in an illegal act of aggression, and were now to be prosecuted in the Iranian capital.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Mohammad Ali Hosseini, claimed in a statement that the Britons were engaged “in illegal and suspicious” activities, suggesting that Iran might claim they were spying.
Iran, the United States and the United Kingdom have been involved in a tit-for-tat round of accusations. Washington and London accuse Iran of widespread interference in Iraq, including the supply of weapons that have resulted in the deaths of soldiers serving in the multinational forces there.
The West also accuses Iran of engaging in uranium enrichment to develop a nuclear weapon. On Saturday night the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to impose tougher sanctions against Iran in the hope of sending a strong message that it will grow increasingly isolated by refusing to abort its nuclear enrichment programme.
A senior Iranian official told the Fars news agency that the 14 British men and one woman had been taken to Tehran for further investigation. He added that “documents and evidence existed” — including from the sailors’ own GPS equipment — that demonstrated that they knew they had strayed into Iranian waters.
The claims were hotly denied by British officials and US officials, who said that the two high-powered British “ribs” — rigid inflatable boats — were “miles” inside Iraqi waters when they were surrounded by Iranian patrol boats on Friday.
The British claim appeared to be backed up by an eyewitness account from an Iraqi fisherman who told Reuters that he saw the capture of the servicemen, following their inspection of a ship suspected of carrying smuggled cars. The fisherman added that the ship was anchored on the Iraqi side of the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab waterway, the border between the two countries.
It was also confirmed on Saturday that the men had been detained by members of the naval force of the Revolutionary Guard, the organisation accused by both the US and Britain of channelling arms and other material to Shia militias in Iraq.
In London, Foreign Office minister Lord Triesman held an hour-long meeting with Iran’s ambassador, Rasoul Movahedian — the second meeting in two days between British officials and Iran’s ambassador — to demand the “immediate release” of the seized Britons. The meeting was described as “frank but friendly”.
The demand was supported by European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who pledged “support and solidarity” on Saturday for Britain over the seizure, and said the incident must not complicate a push to impose further sanctions on Iran.
Iran’s President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, says the country’s nuclear programme is aimed only at generating power. The new package of sanctions targets Iran’s arms exports, its state-owned bank, Sepah, and senior figures in the Revolutionary Guard.
“We are doing our utmost in co-operation with the British authorities,” Solana told journalists at an EU summit in Berlin. “They have our support and solidarity.”
He said a second UN Security Council resolution to impose sanctions on Iran would go ahead regardless. “The resolution will follow its course,” he said.
The demand for the men’s release was echoed by Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Foreign Minister of Germany, which holds the EU presidency.
A spokesperson for Iran’s defence forces, General Alireza Afshar, said the “arrest” was made by members of the Revolutionary Guard within the Iranian territorial waters on Friday, and added that the servicemen were being interrogated and were now “facing prosecution” after confessing to an act of “aggression” in Iranian waters.
He told Iranian radio that the arrested Britons were in “good health” and that the “confessions” would be made public. – Guardian Unlimited Â