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Kidnapped Sailor Standoff

Britain Wants UN Action on Iran

Iran is demanding that Britain admit that its sailors were in Iranian waters when they were captured. London has refused and instead has called for more international pressure on Tehran to secure the release of the 15 Britons.

AFP

The captured British sailors, including the sole woman Faye Turney, were shown on Iranian TV on Wednesday.

Britain has rejected an Iranian demand that it admit that its sailors had entered Iranian waters when they were arrested last week. Instead it is trying to ratchet up international pressure on Tehran and has called on the United Nations for support. The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon held talks with Iran's foreign minister on Thursday and the Security Council is expected to dissuss the issue later in the day.

This increased diplomatic pressure follows an escalation of tensions on Wednesday, a day on which the British government reacted with fury to the appearance of the captives on Iranian television and froze most bilateral dealings with Tehran. After a week-long stand-off with Iran, Britain is now calling on international support to help secure the release of the 15 sailors captured by Iran last Friday.

Iran's suggestion for resolving the standoff hasn't gone down well in London. The Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said late Wednesday evening that Britain should admit its sailors were in Iranian waters. "This can be solved," he said. "But they have to show that it was a mistake ... Admitting the mistake will facilitate a solution to the problem." Britain rejected that offer out of hand.

Instead of going down the apology road, London has decided to ramp up the pressure on Tehran. British Prime Minister Tony Blair told the House of Commons on Wednesday: "There was no justification, whatsoever, for (the sailors') detention. It was completely unacceptable, wrong and illegal." He said it was time to increase the diplomatic and international pressure, "to make sure the Iranian government understands its total isolation on the issue."

The British Defense Ministry upped the diplomatic stakes on Wednesday by releasing data, including a GPS readout, to back up its claims that the servicemen were 1.7 nautical miles (3 kilometers) inside Iraqi waters at the time of their arrest.

The UN Security Council is expected to meet later on Thursday to debate issuing a statement saying the British sailors were operating under a UN mandate when they were arrested. And the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon held talks with Mottaki on Thursday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where both men are attending the summit of Arab leaders. Ban's spokeswoman said that the detention of the Britons was among the topics discussed.

Paraded on television

On Wednesday the British government angrily denounced the appearance of its military personnel on Iranian television. The Iranian Arabic-language station Al-Alam broadcast footage of the 15 Britons, showing them sitting in an Iranian boat after their capture and also eating in a brightly-lit room.

The segment displayed a letter written by the sole female sailor, Faye Turney, to her family, which read: "I have written a letter to the Iranian people to apologize for us entering their waters." Later Turney, who was wearing a headscarf, was shown speaking: "Obviously we trespassed into their waters," she said. "They were very friendly and hospitable ... They explained to us why we've been arrested. There was no harm, no aggression."

Iran seemed to backtrack on earlier statements that it was prepared to release Turney on Wednesday or Thursday. In an interview with the Associated Press on Wednesday night, Mottaki said merely that Iran will look into releasing her "as soon as possible."

British Defense Minister Des Browne reacted angrily to the TV footage, saying it was "completely unacceptable to parade our people in this way."

And the British Foreign Minister Margaret Beckett said she was "very concerned about these pictures and any indication of pressure on, or coercion of our personnel who were carrying out a routine operation in accordance with international law and under a United Nations resolution."

Speaking to reporters at the Arab summit, Mottaki also said on Wednesday that British officials would be allowed to visit the detainees. However the British Foreign Office said that so far it had not received an official offer of consular access from Iran.

smd/ap/bbc

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