Iran accuses British Navy of illegal entry

Last Modified: 23 Mar 2007
By: Nick Paton Walsh

Iran has accused the British Navy of illegally entering its waters, triggering the arrest of 15 British servicemen.

The British Navy say their men were operating legitimately in Iraqi waters when, having searched a ship suspected of smuggling, their boats were surrounded and they were taken away - at gunpoint - towards Iran.

The other Iranian standoff

It is not the first time that British servicemen have been taken captive by Iranian forces in the troubled waters between Iran and Iraq.

Eight servicemen were seized and detained in July 2004 after their patrol boats were said to have strayed into the Iranian side of the Shatt al Arab waterway. The capture of the six Royal Marines and two Royal Navy sailors sparked a tense stand-off. The men were blindfolded and held for three days during which they were paraded on Iranian TV.

Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett has demanded a 'full explanation' for their detention.

The latest incident comes at a time of renewed tensions with Iran over Tehran's nuclear programme, which Britain and other Western powers fear could be used to develop a nuclear weapon. It also coincided with fresh claims of Iranian interference in Iraq.

Summoned, but unable to give an explanation.

Iran's ambassador was camera-shy at the Foreign Office.

The arrest of 15 British troops in Iraqi waters, Iran's most provocative move in months. But - one official told Channel Four News - he couldn't give any substantive answers.

Iranian TV announcing the arrest CHANGE during their New year holiday. Adding the British Ambassador was summoned to explain the illegal entry into Iranian waters.

The seized British ships patrolling these waters under a UN mandate to curb smuggling. One UK official saying they surrendered to "overwhelming Iranian force".

The arrest was just outside the Shatt al-Arab waterway in the Northern Gulf.

Britain says its troops were in Iraqi waters but this border has been disputed by Iran.

At 1030 local time, two British inflatable boats stopped a merchant ship.

They boarded it but were surrounded by Iranian ships and then escorted into Iranian waters. Commanders on their base ship, the heavily armed HMS Cornwall, could only look on.

There is precious calm on increasingly tense waters. Iran is staging a week of war games nearby.

Flexing their muscles after Washington's charge they're arming the Shia militia who are killing US troops in Iraq but last month, it was America's turn to move aircraft carriers into the Gulf.

The Pentagon's sabre rattling in evidence today, as they heavily briefed the media about the British incident.

We've been here before. Seven British troops were held for three days in 2004, and even given mock executions.

They were also arrested for allegedly straying into Iranian waters and many see the timing of today's incident as no accident.

The UN Security Council may vote tomorrow over new sanctions for Iran.

Washington is denying Tehran's claims its president won't get a visa to address so he can address the vote.

Many are asking if he is behind this move, or whether it's another indication of splits in the Iranian elite.

The coming days will tell if this is just confusion between boats at sea, or a new, worrying chapter in Iran's isolation.

'The British government is demanding the immediate and safe return of our people and equipment'
The MOD

"We are urgently pursuing this matter with the Iranian authorities at the highest level and on the instructions of the Foreign Secretary, the Iranian ambassador has been summoned to the Foreign Office.

"The British government is demanding the immediate and safe return of our people and equipment."