Iran Seizes British Naval Vessels.

Oh no, I wouldn't say go crazy, if however they had decapitated the Brits...THAT would have been reason to go crazy.

[wellard]

Originally posted by MagiK: Looks Like this Tempest in a Tea Cup got a tad larger overnight...Story Link

All over bar the shouting. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Do we know if this was the first incursion by the allies? It's been difficult to wade through the hysteria to find Iran's position on this. Does any one know for sure how many warnings have been issued before, if any?

[johnny]

Anyone wonder what the "Iron Lady's" reaction would have been ?

[wellard]

Originally posted by johnny: Anyone wonder what the "Iron Lady's" reaction would have been ?

Under Thatcher we would not have had the boats to begin with.

And

The soldiers would have been a mercenary army ... The British free trade no foreigners legion

[Lanesra]

Originally posted by johnny: quote: Originally posted by MagiK: Oh glad to hear that the Guys have been released unharmed. What happened to the boats? Did the Iranians keep them?

Have you seen what type of boats we're talking about here ? If i were Tony Blair, i'd say keep em. Let them think they now have a powerful Navy. [/QUOTE]I think they were MK12 Amphibians, we used to row them on the lake at Finsbury park when we were kids. There will be a fine for getting them back late though [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ 06-24-2004, 10:27 AM: Message edited by: Lanesra ]

To: Lanesra and Wellard.....LOL

To: WHoever asked about others straying across the line. It's the dang water...they keep painting the lines out there and they keep moving....these guys were not very far over the line (about a kiometer) and Im inclined to think that, as with any line in the water, people are constantly crossing from one side to the other without any issue being made. It's only when places like Iran and Libya draw lines of death in the water that things get real interesting.

[ 06-24-2004, 11:20 AM: Message edited by: MagiK ]

[wellard]

MagiK

Lets all be gratefull that commonsense ruled.

[Morgeruat]

here's the real deal, apparently

"A source close to the [Iranian] Revolutionary Guards told Al-Sharq Al-Awsat of the real reasons and factors in the apprehension of the three British Navy vessels and the arrest of the sailors by Iranian Coast Guard patrol forces on Monday [June 21, 2004]. He indicated that the British Army command in Iraq had understood the message sent them by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards command by their capture of the ships." 'Detention of 40 Volunteers for Suicide Operations Was Great Concern to the Revolutionary Guards' "According to the source, the content of the message was very simple: 'Release our comrades, whom you are holding, and we will release your soldiers.' The source clarified that the detention of 40 volunteers for suicide operations by the Ukrainian forces acting in Iraq was of great concern to the Revolutionary Guards command, because they [the 40] constituted the first group of volunteers participating in the Organization for the Commemoration of the Shahids, which was established recently by Revolutionary Guards Commander Col. Dhu al-Qadr. "Al-Sharq Al-Awsat was informed that one of the senior leaders of the Revolutionary Guards, who had formerly held the post of head of the Committee for Iran-Ukraine Military Cooperation, had gone to Kiev for talks regarding the Iranian detainees. However, it turned out that the Ukrainian units had already handed the volunteers for suicide operations over to British forces acting in southern Iraq. "Despite contacts between the Iranian and British military committees at the borders and daily contact between them in small conflict resolution - [such that] this has become routine since the British forces entered southern Iraq - the British command has so far refused to acknowledge that it is holding 40 Iranian volunteers in one of its detention camps. According to the Iranian source, this caused the Revolutionary Guards leadership to seek a semi-military solution to bring its men back from Iraq."

link

Now....is it true? who knows?

[Morgeruat]

according to the linked article the british deny having custody of the 40, so who really knows...