World>Terrorism & Security
posted July 1, 2004, updated 12:45 p.m.

Was British apology to Iran premature?

Downing St. demands return of navy boats after British servicemen say they were forced into Iranian waters.

by Matthew Clark | csmonitor.com

It was supposed to have been resolved last week. But "the row over the British servicemen detained by Iran reopened [Thursday] morning, as Downing Street demanded the return of the navy's boats to reveal whether the flotilla had strayed or been forced into Iranian waters," reports The Guardian.

The six marines and two sailors were seized by the Iranians while on patrol on the Shatt al-Arab waterway, which runs along the Iran-Iraq border and connects the southern Iraqi city of Basra to the Persian Gulf.


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British Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon revealed Wednesday night that the detained servicemen claimed they had been forced into Iranian waters by Iranian forces before being taken captive by them.

In a recent debriefing the crews have said that they were operating inside the Iraqi border and were forcibly escorted into Iranian territorial waters. ... Our assessment continues and will be greatly assisted by the retrieval of navigational information in the Global Positioning System equipment carried by the crews.

Iran has yet to return this equipment, along with the three boats in which the servicemen had been traveling, despite a Tuesday deadline set by Britain, Hoon said.

The Daily Telegraph notes that Hoon also added that British personnel are issued with modern charts and equipment which should be sufficient to prevent straying across the border.

The Times of London reports that "although Tehran has agreed 'in principle' to return the boats, no agreement has been reached about the manner in which they can be given back."

Hoon also expressed concern that the captured men had been blindfolded and paraded on Iranian television, and he says Britain has told Iran there must be no other such incidents, reports Voice of America.

According to The Independent the servicemen's version of events " threatens to cause a fresh diplomatic crisis with Iran and to sabotage efforts to smooth over dispute by Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, and Iranian leaders."

Iran denies the British servicemen were forced into their waters, reports Reuters. The Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said: "The British charge d'affaires in Tehran ... had confirmed the unauthorized and unintentional straying of the boats to Iranian waters."

British Prime Minister Tony Blair's official spokesman said Thursday:

We still want our boats returned, not least because that would help finally to resolve what did happen, because of the navigational equipment on board. ... The boats were on an entirely routine operation. There was no intention to go into Iranian waters.

Shadow foreign secretary Michael Ancram called the alleged treatment of the sailors "absolutely outrageous" and demanded a "full apology" from Iranian authorities if the servicemen's claims are true. He said the incident created "an extraordinary strain on Iranian-British relations".

We were required to apologize for what appeared to have been trespassing into Iranian waters. Our servicemen were paraded blindfolded and humiliated. The equipment still has not been returned.

Iran has "a lot to lose" from the episode, Mr. Ancram said.

The incident took place just days after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) passed a toughly worded resolution deploring Iran's lack of cooperation with UN nuclear weapons inspectors.

Speculation arose in some quarters last week that Iran's seizure of the British servicemen could have been motivated in part by retaliation for the resolution, which Britain co-sponsored.

Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said Wednesday that Iran will resume building centrifuges, but the work is not aimed at making nuclear weapons.