Humph, pesky Iranians :S
I probably agree with PurpleXVI's appraisal of the situation, they seem to always come back.
All the same, I wouldn't mind a little sabre-rattling, they were sailors from a pretty big-ass ship after all.
I just watched a statement by Margaret Beckett, our passive 'Blair babe' of a foreign secretary, and she had this stupid smile playing on her face the whole time like she was really happy she finally got a chance to be on TV. I hate our government
From various links I've read, it sounds like their location was much less controversial this time than in 2004, when apparently we made comments about appalling weather etc and eventually admitted that we were in their waters.
Looks like they were in those little inflatable powerboats when they were jumped by Iranian ships:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17752685/
Quote:
The Britons were in two boats from the frigate H.M.S. Cornwall during a routine smuggling investigation, said the British Defense Ministry.
According to a statement from the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, which is based in Bahrain and operates jointly with the British forces off the coast of Iraq, the British sailors had just finished inspecting the merchant ship about 10:30 a.m. Friday “when they and their two boats were surrounded and escorted by Iranian vessels into Iranian territorial waters.”
Cmdr. Kevin Aandahl of the Fifth Fleet said the British crew members were intercepted by several larger patrol boats operated by Iranian sailors belonging to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, a radical force that operates separately from the country’s regular navy.
The Iranian boats normally carry bow-mounted machine guns, while the British boarding party carried only sidearms, Aandahl said. No shots were fired and there appeared to be no physical harm done to any personnel involved or their vessels, Aandahl said.
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The Commodore also made reference to them acting according to the rules of engagement, so perhaps they weren't allowed to fight
The statement from the US Fifth Fleet also seems to suggest they were outside Iranian waters at the time.
[ 03-23-2007, 06:07 PM: Message edited by: shamrock_uk ]