|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Saturday, July 03, 2004
Iran's Revolutionary Guards Warn Britain Over Sailor Spat
July 03, 2004
AFP
Yahoo News
TEHRAN -- Iran's hardline Revolutionary Guards have hit back at Britain in the spat over last month's detention of eight servicemen, describing as illogical London's claim the unit had not entered Iranian waters.
The spokesman of the Islamic republic's ideological army, General Massoud Jazayeri, said "it is possible that the illogical statements by British officials will have other consequences".
His comments, made to the Iranian news agency ILNA, were confirmed by his office. The official did not elaborate on what the other consequences could be.
The six marines and two sailors were detained for three days in Iran last month, during which they were paraded blindfold on television and forced to publicly apologise for what they called a "mistake".
Iran insists that the boats were intercepted only after they entered Iranian waters on the Shatt al-Arab waterway that divides southern Iraq from Iran.
But after the released unit was debriefed, British officials said it appeared they were "forcibly escorted" over the maritime border by Iranian troops.
However, Britain is unable to prove its contention unless it receives the six Royal Marines and two sailors' boats and sophisticated GPS navigational equipment, confiscated by the Revolutionary Guards.
The incident has come amid a more general downturn in bilateral ties, with Britain co-sponsoring a resolution passed by the International Atomic Energy Agency several days before the arrests that heavily criticised Iran for failing to cooperate fully with an investigation into its nuclear programme.
link to original article
|
|
|
