Eye On U.K

[Rasputin]

Military strikes against Iran could speed Tehran's development of nuclear weapons, according to a UK think tank.
A report by the Oxford Research Group says military action could lead Iran to change the nature of its programme and quickly build a few nuclear arms.

Iran denies Western claims it is trying to build weapons, saying its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful.

The study comes as the UN nuclear watchdog is set to discuss the nuclear programmes of Iran and North Korea.

In February, Iran ignored a deadline set by the UN Security Council to stop enriching uranium.

A report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Iran was instead expanding the programme.

Far from setting back Iran's nuclear programme , a military attack might create the political conditions in which Iran could accelerate its nuclear weapons programme

Oxford Research Group report


Can a military strike work?
Stark attack threat warning

Enriched uranium is used as fuel for nuclear reactors, but highly enriched uranium can be used to make nuclear bombs.

Western powers have threatened to expand sanctions on Iran. These could include travel bans on Iranian officials associated with nuclear and missile programmes.

The US has not ruled out using force but says it wants to give diplomacy a chance.

'Fast-track programme'

The Oxford Research Group report is written by nuclear scientist and arms expert Frank Barnaby.

"If Iran is moving towards a nuclear weapons capacity it is doing so relatively slowly, most estimates put it at least five years away," he says.

POSSIBLE NEXT STEPS
New UN resolution on tougher economic sanctions, tabled by US or European allies
US pressure on Europeans to step up bilateral sanctions
New initiative to get Iran back to talks


Q&A: Iran's nuclear plans

Mr Barnaby adds that an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities "would almost certainly lead to a fast-track programme to develop a small number of nuclear devices as quickly as possible".

He says it "would be a bit like deciding to build a car from spare parts instead of building the entire car factory".

The BBC's diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus says that with two US navy aircraft carrier strike groups in the Gulf region and US spokesmen refusing to rule out force, this study is timely and highlights what most air power experts have been saying for some time.

IAEA meeting

An operation to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities would be neither brief nor limited in scope, our correspondent says. Multiple targets would have to be hit, and the outcome would be far from clear, especially if Iran has hidden facilities unknown to US intelligence.

But he points out that this is not a military study - written by a noted atomic scientist and peace campaigner, it looks more at the aftermath of a potential US attack and questions the central rationale for any military operation.

On Monday the IAEA board of governors is due to discuss both Iran and North Korea.

The BBC's Bethany Bell in Vienna says that while there is little progress on the Iranian nuclear file there has been movement on North Korea.

Last month Pyongyang agreed to take the first steps towards nuclear disarmament, as part of a deal reached during talks in Beijing.

Under the agreement, North Korea promised to shut down its main nuclear reactor in return for fuel aid.

[Rasputin]

رئيس سابق بازرسان تسليحاتى سازمان ملل در عراق گفت دولت انگليس براى توجيه اشغال عراق در سال 2003 اطلاعات مربوط به تسليحات اين كشور را دستكارى كرده بود.
هانس بليكس در مصاحبه اى با شبكه تلويزيونى "اسكاي*نيوز" كه روز دوشنبه پخش شد، گفت پرونده مربوط به برنامه تسليحات كشتارجمعى عراق بصورت آگاهانه به گونه*اى دستكارى شده بود كه آغاز جنگ را موجه جلوه دهد.
بليكس كه تا ژوئن 2003 تيم بازرسان تسليحات كشتارجمعى سازمان ملل در عراق را هدايت مي*كرد، افزود دولت تونى بلر، نخست وزير انگليس با انتشار اين پرونده پيش از اشغال عراق ادعا كرد كه صدام زرادخانه تسليحات شيميايى و بيولوژيكى دارد و مى تواند ظرف 45 دقيقه از آنها استفاده كند.
بليكس توضيح داد كه اگر به بازرسان سازمان ملل اجازه داده مى شد كار بازرسى را براى چند ماه ديگر ادامه دهند، مقامات اطلاعاتى انگليس احتمالاً به اين نتيجه مى رسيدند كه عراق زرادخانه تسليحات كشتارجمعى ندارد و منابع اطلاعاتى آنها اطلاعات ناموثق دراختيارشان قرار داده بودند.
پرونده اطلاعاتى انگليس درباره تسليحات كشتارجمعى عراق در سال 2004 مورد انتقاد تيم تحقيق مستقلى قرار گرفت. لرد باتلر، رئيس اين تيم گرچه مستقيماً از بلر انتقاد نكرد، اما از مقامات اطلاعاتى انگليسى به دليل اعتماد به منابع اطلاعاتى شديداً ناموثق و غيرقابل اعتماد انتقاد كرد.
گزارش باتلر اينطور نتيجه گيرى كرد كه پرونده اطلاعاتى تسليحات كشتارجمعى عراق كه دولت بلر با استناد به آن توانست حمايت پارلمان را براى پيوستن به آمريكا در اشغال عراق به دست آورد، داراى محدوديت*ها و خلأهاى اطلاعاتى اساسى بوده است.

[Rasputin]

Iranians blame UK for all that goes awry

Theirs is the hidden hand blamed by Iranian public opinion for everything from bombs exploding in the south to the more mundane upsets of ordinary life. They are 'the cross-eyed British'.
It may be news in the UK, where most assume that top of Iran's most-hated list is the US or Israel, but in reality it is perfidious Albion that in the Iranian world view is regarded as the dark mover behind the scenes, arranging acts deeply inimical to the Islamic Republic.

It is an unhappy relationship suddenly cast into sharp focus by the seizure of 15 British naval personnel by members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard. To the average Briton, it was a bolt out of the blue.
Yesterday as Iranian officials announced that the seized naval personnel had 'confessed' to aggressively violating Iranian sovereignty, and the Foreign Ministry hinted at acts 'illlustrative of suspicious' agendas, to Iranians it all made sense.

For on the Iranian street, the episode is simply the latest chapter in a long narrative of deep-rooted national enmity towards the 'old coloniser'.

The 15 men and at least one woman were intercepted by Iranian vessels on Friday at around 10.30am near the disputed Shatt al-Arab waterway. Local fishermen watched as the Iranian vessels surrounded the two inflatable British boats and escorted them away at gunpoint.

The seizure comes at a time of heightened tensions over Iran's nuclear ambitions and allegations that Iran is arming Shia Muslims in Iraq - the UN is this weekend voting on further sanctions.

But even as Britain was treating it as a mistake rather than a provocation, Iranian hardliners were calling for the Britons to be held until Iran wins political concessions from the West.

The fevered lexicon of the 1979 Islamic revolution may have cast America as the 'Great Satan' after the name was coined by the revolution's spiritual leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, but Iranians find it easier to fit the label to Britain, the imperial power that for decades meddled in their domestic politics and monopolised their oil industry.

They have a long list of historical grievances against the British. The key event was the 1953 coup which toppled the nationalist Prime Minister, Mohammad Mossadegh, and entrenched the repressive rule of the last Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The coup was spearheaded by the CIA but engineered by Winston Churchill's government after Mossadegh had nationalised the British-owned Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, on whose revenues the exchequer was heavily dependent.

In the 19th century, Iran had been a pawn in the imperial game between Britain and Tsarist Russia, with the British using it as a buffer to defend the jewel of its colonial possessions, India.

The sources of resentment may belong to a bygone age but many Iranians still believe that a hidden British hand controls their destiny. The conviction has a superstitious quality but permeates political opinion. Members of the Basij volunteer militia loyal to the Islamic regime put British global influence on an equal footing with that of the US. Thus President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad routinely condemns the UN security council as a tool of American and British world domination while assailing its attempts to stop Iran's nuclear programme.

Equally, many Iranians with oppositionist leanings equate the British with secret support for the current regime. Britain is widely seen as pro-mullah and even as the hidden force behind the revolution. Iranians will commonly cite some long-forgotten BBC World Service report containing a complementary reference to Khomeini as evidence of official British complicity.

It was a belief shared by the shah, who suspected British intelligence of orchestrating the mass demonstrations that triggered his downfall. The shah's suspicions were fuelled by his lingering resentment against Britain for having deposed his father, Reza Shah, during the second world war because of his pro-Nazi sympathies.

So Britain is the common enemy and - potentially - the great unifier. Whenever national or patriotic unity is required, the spectre of British enmity can provide a convenient catalyst.

In last week's No Rouz (Iranian new year) message to the nation, the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, hinted that Iran might act 'illegally' to pursue its nuclear programme. 'Until today, what we have done is in accordance with international regulations. But if they take illegal actions, we too can take illegal actions and will do so,' he said.

He did not elaborate. But a deliberately-engineered dispute with Britain could serve to silence domestic criticism of Ahmadinejad's abrasive handling of the nuclear issue, which Khamenei has felt obliged to support.

When the security council first agreed sanctions against Iran last December, it triggered a wave of condemnation of the president.

The outcry, widely reflected in the Iranian media, aided the political renaissance of a pragmatic former President, Aqbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who had been written off after being defeated by Ahmadinejad in the 2005 presidential election. Rafsanjani has been trying to re-assert himself since topping the poll in last December's elections to the expert's council - a powerful clerical body that supervises the performance of the supreme leader.

That represents a potential threat to Khamenei, who has long seen Rafsanjani as a rival and supported Ahmadinejad's presidential bid against him.

Add to this Ahmadinejad's mysterious cancellation of his address to the security council and a pattern begins to form. Such a high-profile event could only have deflected attention from the spat with Britain and given more ammunition to the president's domestic critics.

The supreme leader has set himself the goal of rallying national unity in the face of a common enemy. That objective would have been ill-served by his undiplomatic president causing ructions in the world's highest diplomatic forum.

[Rasputin]

Britain is still waiting to be granted access to 15 Royal Navy personnel held by Iran, two days after their capture.
In a meeting in Tehran between Iranian government officials and the UK ambassador, Iran also failed to say where the 15 were being held.

Minister Peter Hain said the seizure of the eight sailors and seven marines, from HMS Cornwall, was "very serious".

Iran says the Britons, seized on Friday, were trespassing in Iranian waters, which the UK denies.

The Foreign Office is adamant they were in Iraqi waters and has called for their immediate release.

'Tough game'

The British embassy said it had sought Sunday's meeting to demand the release of the sailors.

However, reports on Iranian TV said it was Iran's foreign ministry that summoned the ambassador, to receive a protest about British actions.

The Britons, who include one woman, were seized at gunpoint by forces said to be Iranian Revolutionary Guards, after inspecting an Iraqi boat and returning to their two small boats to head back to the Cornwall.

British ambassador Geoffrey Adams asked to know the whereabouts of the personnel and for consular access, but this was not forthcoming.

HAVE YOUR SAY
The country of Iran needs to have a good long hard look at how this situation will look to the rest of the world

Gary, UK


Send us your comments

A British diplomat said the Iranians replied they would get back to the embassy on those issues - and told the ambassador the release of the 15 Britons was yet to be determined.

BBC News security correspondent Gordon Correra said Iran was playing a "tough game" over the situation.

Foreign Office Minister Lord Triesman met the Iranian ambassador in London on Saturday to demand the group's immediate release.

That part of the water between Iran and Iraq where the incident happened has been disputed for decades

Professor Sadaq Ziba-Kalam, Tehran University


EU to seek nuclear talks

But on Sunday he told Sky News: "We do not know where they are, I wish we did."

He said the Royal Navy commander in the area was confident they had the technical evidence to prove the personnel were not in Iranian waters.

Efforts to get more information may be being hampered by the two-week new year public holiday in Iran.

Northern Ireland Secretary Mr Hain said: "We're pursuing every negotiating option to try and bring our soldiers back and make sure that they're safe.

"It's essential that this occurs and it's essential not just for the well-being of our soldiers but also for stability in the region."



HMS Cornwall's area of operations
Students belonging to the paramilitary Basij group, which is close to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, have called for the Britons to be put on trial.

However, Professor Sadaq Ziba-Kalam, of Tehran University, told BBC News 24 he did not think they would be charged with spying.

"That part of the water between Iran and Iraq where the incident happened has been disputed for decades," he said.

"So it is very difficult to draw the line and say this is the Iranian side of the border and this is the Iraqi side of the border."


The Cornwall is the flagship of the coalition-Iraqi force which patrols Iraqi territorial waters in the northern Gulf to combat smuggling.

Further sanctions

Iranian armed forces spokesman Gen Ali Reza Afshar told Iranian media on Saturday that the 15 personnel were being interrogated, but were in good health.

They had confessed to being in Iranian waters, he said. But ex-Navy chief Admiral Sir Alan West said a confession in such circumstances meant "absolutely nothing".

Germany - which holds the EU presidency - called for the immediate release of the Britons.

On Saturday the UN Security Council voted unanimously in favour of further sanctions against Iran for its refusal to suspend its nuclear enrichment programme.

The seizure of the boarding party carries echoes of an incident in June 2004 when a group of eight marines and sailors were held for three days after being seized by the Iranians in the Shatt al-Arab waterway.

They were paraded blindfolded on television, and later freed.

[Rasputin]

The 15 Royal Navy personnel who were seized on Friday are being held at an Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps base in Tehran, the BBC has been told.
An Iranian source told the BBC's security correspondent the Britons were being interrogated to find out if their mission was intelligence-gathering.

The investigation involved examining tracking equipment to determine exactly where the crew was captured.

It would probably take a minimum of days, the highly placed source said.

The BBC's security correspondent Frank Gardner was told the interrogation was being carried out by officials from Security, Intelligence and the Judiciary.

In order for the Britons to be released "every vested interest in Iran would need to be satisfied they had not deliberately entered Iranian waters, nor were they spying", the source said.

Those interests included those of the Revolutionary Guards, the foreign ministry, the judges and the intelligence ministry.

'Fit and well'

The seized personnel are fit and well, Iran has told the Foreign Office.

A senior Iranian official had previously told the UK's ambassador in Tehran that the Britons were being held in Iran but would not disclose their exact location.

He said Iran was "working to resolve the matter as soon as possible".

Iran says the Britons could be charged with illegally entering Iranian waters, although both Iraq and the UK insist they were in an Iraqi area.

Escalation

British ambassador Geoffrey Adams was assured that the eight sailors and seven marines were well during an hour-long meeting on Monday with Ebrahim Rahimpour, a senior official at the Iranian foreign ministry in Tehran.



HMS Cornwall's area of operations
Mr Rahimpour agreed to stay in close touch with the British embassy but declined to say what plans Iran had for their release, according to a statement from the Foreign Office.

The Iranian state news agency IRNA said Mr Rahimpour told Mr Adams that the 14 men and one woman could face legal proceedings.

It claimed he expressed concern about the escalation of tensions following the US occupation of Iraq which created security problems on Iran's borders.

And after "contradictory statements" over the seizure of the Britons, the case "required an inquiry into such suspicious events".

Mr Adams's meeting with Iranian officials was the second in two days in which he tried to get consular access to the navy personnel.

The minister called for the release of the detainees and to deal with this case in a wise way

Iraq's foreign ministry


Dividing the Shatt al-Arab
Tensions push oil above $63

It came as Tony Blair said Britain was "utterly confident" the naval personnel were in Iraqi waters and repeated his call for their release.

Defence Secretary Des Browne later told the Commons the government was doing "everything possible" to secure the release of the detainees.

He said his thoughts were with the crew members of HMS Cornwall who had been detained, their friends in theatre and the families in the UK.

Liam Fox, the shadow defence secretary, said the Conservatives wanted MPs to have a chance to discuss the issue as soon as diplomatic sensitivities allowed.

In a telephone call on Sunday night, Iraqi foreign minister Hoshiyar Zebari told his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Motakki the Britons had been in Iraqi waters when captured.

Mr Zebari said they were working with the multi-national forces with the approval of the Iraqi government and according to UN Security Council resolutions.

Iraq's foreign ministry added: "The minister called for the release of the detainees and to deal with this case in a wise way."

The Britons, who include one woman, were seized at gunpoint after inspecting an Iraqi boat and returning to their two small boats to head back to HMS Cornwall.

HAVE YOUR SAY
The country of Iran needs to have a good long hard look at how this situation will look to the rest of the world

Gary, UK


Send us your comments
Iranian view on stand-off

Students belonging to the paramilitary Basij group, which is close to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, have called for them to be put on trial.

Dr Ali Pahlavan, the executive editor of Iran News - an independent newspaper in Tehran - told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the "ultra conservative" Revolutionary Guard believed that Britain and the US needed to be challenged.

"This could be part of the strategy to challenge British and American supremacy in this part of the world - which is troubling, because this could lead to confrontation and this could be a trigger and could lead to escalation".

[Rasputin]

The government is attempting to "discreetly" talk to the Iranians to secure the release of 15 Royal Navy personnel, Downing Street has said.
Tony Blair's spokesman said that if the talks were unsuccessful, the government may have to become "more explicit".

He said they were "utterly confident" the 15 had been in Iraqi, not Iranian, waters, when they were captured.

Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett will shorten a visit to Turkey to fly home to help manage the crisis.

The 15 sailors and marines from HMS Cornwall were captured on Friday after searching a boat in the Gulf, off the coast of Iraq, which they suspected was smuggling cars.

'No doubt'

Iran says the British personnel were trespassing in Iranian waters when they were seized - but the prime minister said the group were in Iraqi waters under a UN mandate.

The prime minister's spokesman said the matter was being dealt with "privately" but the Iranians could be "in no doubt that we expect the immediate release of our personnel".


HMS Cornwall's area of operations
Earlier, Mr Blair warned of a "different phase" if diplomacy failed to secure their release.

His spokesman said he was referring to a "different way" of handling talks, which could involve making public reasons why the UK was certain the group was in Iraqi waters.

It is understood this could include producing evidence such as boat co-ordinates and details of the searched vessel apparently still anchored in Iraqi waters.

The spokesman told reporters: "We are utterly confident that we were in Iraqi waters, and not just marginally in Iraqi waters but in Iraqi waters. It's a case of tactics and if and when we have to prove that."

HAVE YOUR SAY
The country of Iran needs to have a good long hard look at how this situation will look to the rest of the world

Gary, UK


Send us your comments
Iranian view on stand-off

However, one high-ranking Iraqi official has expressed surprise that British forces were operating in the area.

Brigadier-General Hakim Jassim, commander of Iraq's territorial waters, said: "Usually there is no presence of British forces in that area, so we were surprised and we wondered whether the British forces were inside Iraqi waters or inside Iranian regional waters."

The BBC has been told the group are being held at an Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps base in Tehran.

They have been held for five days, but are said to be being treated humanely.

Commons statement

On Tuesday, Defence Secretary Des Browne chaired a meeting of ministers and officials - under the auspices of the government's "civil contingencies committee" known as Cobra - to discuss the situation.

Officials said it was intended to ensure coordination across Whitehall and keep civil servants updated on the latest developments.

Cobra leads responses to national crises and convened in recent years for the 7 July London bombings, the fuel protests and 11 September attack.

It is understood that while still in Turkey, Mrs Beckett spoke to Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki to push again for immediate consular access to them.

The Associated Press news agency reported that Iranian officials had repeated assurances that British diplomats would get access to the detainees once their inquiry into the incident was complete.

On Wednesday, Mrs Beckett is expected to make a statement to the Commons.

Faye Turney, one of the 15 captured, was interviewed by the BBC last week.

She said: "Sometimes you may be called upon, and when you do you've just got to deal with it and get on with it".

Meanwhile, her family, from Shrewsbury, Shropshire, have said it is a "very distressing time" for them.

[Rasputin]

TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran said on Wednesday it will release "within a day or two" a British servicewoman whose detention along with 14 male colleagues has set off a major diplomatic row with London.



"The woman will be released within a day or two," foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told AFP, adding that "preliminary investigations" were going on for the 14 others navy and marine personnel.

Faye Turney is the only woman among the eight Royal Navy sailors and seven marines Britain says were on a routine anti-smuggling operation in Iraqi waters when they were seized at gunpoint in the north of the Gulf on Friday.

Tehran, which is already at odds with the West over its controversial nuclear programme, says they entered Iranian territorial waters illegally.

Earlier an Arabic-language Iranian television station said it would broadcast "new footage" of the 15, whose detention has prompted Britain to freeze ties with Tehran.

Al-Alam also said it would air an interview with Turney, a 26-year-old married mother of a girl aged three.

A representative of the station said it would be shown in one or two hours.

British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett earlier announced a freeze on all official ties with the Islamic state as Prime Minister Tony Blair vowed to increase pressure on Tehran, which he said faces "total isolation."

[Rasputin]

The UK government has suspended bilateral relationships with Iran until a dispute over the seizure of British sailors from Iraqi waters is resolved.
Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett told MPs that diplomatic efforts were continuing with Iranian officials to release the 15 navy personnel.

However, other business has been suspended, with "aspects of our policy towards Iran under close review".

Iran seized the personnel five days ago, saying they were in their waters.

Earlier the Ministry of Defence had shown satellite data which it said proved the personnel were 1.7 nautical miles inside Iraqi waters when they were seized.

Vice Admiral Charles Style said the sailors had been "ambushed" after the search of a vessel and that their detention was "unjustified and wrong".

UK VERSION OF EVENTS
UK government says merchant vessel boarded by crew from HMS Cornwall was 1.7 nautical miles inside Iraqi territorial waters
HMS Cornwall was south-east of merchant ship, inside Iraqi waters
Iranian government initially told UK that merchant vessel was at a point still within Iraqi waters
After UK pointed this out, Iran provided alternative position, within Iranian waters

Mrs Beckett, making a statement to the House of Commons on Wednesday, repeated the prime minister's position that the situation had reached "a different phase".

"That is why MoD have today released details of the incident and why I have concluded that we need to focus all our bilateral efforts during this phase to resolution of this issue.

"We will, therefore be imposing a freeze on all other official bilateral business with Iran until this situation is resolved."

'Serious situation'


Iran has failed to agree to British demands, she said, although she added it had made no demands.

Britain had asked for information on the personnel, consular access to them and their release.

"No one should be in any doubt about the seriousness with which we regard these events," Mrs Beckett said.

The Iranians have said the incident is not linked to any bilateral, regional or international issue, she added.

The US, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and other British allies had given support to Britain in demanding the release of the 15.

"I am particularly grateful to my colleague, Hoshyar Zebari, the Iraqi Foreign Minister, who has confirmed publicly that the incident took place in Iraqi waters, calling for the personnel, who are acting in Iraq's interests, to be released."

Strong moral position


Speaking after the Ministry of Defence released the co-ordinates of the incident, Mrs Beckett said the information was being publicly discussed to get both the British and Iranian accounts on the public record as "behind-the-scenes diplomacy" had failed to resolve the issue.

Shadow foreign affairs secretary William Hague praised the "firm but measured" approach the government had taken.

"The seizure of our personnel was clearly unjustified and the evidence the Foreign Secretary and the MoD has presented shatters the credibility of any claim they were operating in Iranian waters."

He added: "If this did turn into a protracted dispute, this country is placed in the strongest moral and legal position in having approached the issue in this way,"

[Rasputin]

Iranian state television has broadcast an interview with captured British sailor Faye Turney and footage of the 14 servicemen seized with her.
Leading Seaman Turney, 26, said they had been seized in the Gulf because "obviously we trespassed" in Iranian waters - something the UK disputes.

She said her captors had been friendly and the 15 personnel were unharmed.

Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said in a statement she was "very concerned" about the pictures.

'Hospitable'

Earlier Iran said it would release Leading Seaman Turney "very soon".

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said she would be released on Wednesday or Thursday.

UK VERSION OF EVENTS

1 Crew boards merchant ship 1.7NM inside Iraqi waters
2 HMS Cornwall was south-east of this, and inside Iraqi waters
3 Iran tells UK that merchant ship was at a different point, still within Iraqi waters
4 After UK points this out, Iran provides alternative position, now within Iranian waters



UK version in more detail
Sailor 'writes' to family

The circumstances of the filming are unknown.

The footage showed the eight Royal Navy sailors and seven Royal Marines, who were seized at gunpoint by Iranian Revolutionary Guards last Friday, in their uniforms sitting and eating a meal out of white trays.

There was separate footage of Leading Seaman Turney - wearing a black headscarf - smoking and speaking.

She said: "I was arrested on Friday March 23. Obviously we trespassed into their waters.

"They were very friendly and very hospitable, very thoughtful, good people.

"They explained to us why we had been arrested. There was no aggression, no hurt, no harm. They were very, very compassionate."

'Unacceptable'

The video showed a letter, said to have been written by Leading Seaman Turney, who is from Shrewsbury, to her parents, in which she admitted that the navy personnel had "apparently" crossed into Iranian waters.


The captured personnel were shown eating in their uniforms

"I wish we hadn't because then I would be home with you right now," the letter said.

BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said he thought Leading Seaman Turney's words had been scripted.

"She did not sound there like somebody who was saying those words of her free will," he said.

"Obviously she had been told what to say."

Mrs Beckett said she was concerned about "any indication of pressure on or coercion of our personnel" who she said were on a routine operation in accordance with international law.

She added: "I am particularly disappointed that a private letter has been used in a way which can only add to the distress of the families."

Defence Secretary Des Browne said it was "completely unacceptable to parade our people in this way".

'Pressure'

Earlier on Wednesday the UK said it was suspending bilateral contacts with Iran amid the dispute over the personnel.

They were taken after searching a merchant vessel in the northern Gulf.


Footage was shown of the British personnel being seized

Iran has insisted the group, based on HMS Cornwall, which has its home port in Plymouth, were in its waters when they were taken.

Earlier Prime Minister Tony Blair said it was time for the UK to "ratchet up" pressure on Iran.

The Ministry of Defence issued data it said proved the navy group had been 1.7 nautical miles inside Iraqi waters when they were seized.

Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff, Vice Admiral Charles Style, gave detailed co-ordinates which he said proved that.

'Ambush'

The co-ordinates were 29 degrees 50.36 minutes north, 048 degrees 43.08 minutes east.

The MoD also released a photograph of a handheld global positioning satellite device in HMS Cornwall's Lynx helicopter as it flew over the searched merchant vessel.

THE EDITORS' BLOG

The pictures shown by Iranian TV obviously raised some issues...

Kevin Bakhurst,
Controller, BBC News 24


Kevin's comments in full
Send us your comments

Vice Admiral Style said the sailors had been "ambushed" and their detention was "unjustified and wrong".

The UK government said the Iranians had initially said the merchant vessel had been at a point within Iraqi waters, before later providing a second, alternative position, within Iranian waters.

Iran's embassy in London issued a statement in response to the UK data, in which it said the sailors and marines had been 0.5 km inside Iranian waters at the time they were seized.

The statement, quoted by the official IRNA news agency, said "the governments of Iran and Britain have the ability to solve the incident through contacts and close co-operation".

[Rasputin]

محاصره کنسولگری ایران در بصره"
خبر گزاری فرانسه گزارش می*دهد *کنسولگری ایران در بصره اعلام کرده است که نیروهای بریتانیایی ساختمان نمایندگی ایران را به محاصره خود درآورده و به داخل آن رفته*اند*.
بر پایه این گزارش، ارتش بریتانیا قاطعانه این خبر را تکذیب کرده و اعلام داشت که سربازان بریتانیایی هنگام گشت*زنی عادی خود در نزدیکی کنسولگری ایران هدف تیراندازی قرارگرفته*اند، اما از خودروهای خود پیاده نشده*اند.
کنسول ایران در بصره به فرانس پرس گفته است: "نیروهای بریتانیایی کنسولگری ایران در بصره را بستند. و به مدت 10 دقیقه به داخل آن رفتند و پس از آن به سوی آنان به شدت تیراندازی شد".
محمد رضا نصیر، کنسول ایران در بصره افزود: "این اقدامی تحریک*آمیز علیه کنسولگری ایران است و فکر می*کنم که با نیروهای دستگیر شده بریتانیایی در ایران ارتباط داشته باشد".
فرانس پرس می*افزاید هنگامی که از سرگرد دیود گل، سخنگوی نیروهای بریتانیایی، سئوال شد که آیا نیروهای این کشور به کنسولگری ایران یورش برده*اند؟، وی در پاسخ گفت: "نه، مطلقا این طور نیست".
این نظامی بریتانیایی اظهار داشت: "یک خودروی گشتی هنگام بازگشت به مقر نیروهای بریتانیایی در بصره، هدف تیر اندازی سلا*ح*های سبک قرار گرفت که ما هم برای دفاع از خود تیراندازی کردیم و گشتی هم به راه خود ادامه داد".
سخنگوی نیروهای بریتانیایی وقوع این حادثه را در نزدیکی ساختمان کنسولگری ایران کاملا "تصادفی" دانسته است

[Rasputin]

Iran has offered to let UK officials visit the 15 Royal Navy personnel who were captured in the Gulf on Friday.
Iran's foreign minister also said the only woman being held, Faye Turney, who has been interviewed on Iranian state television, could be released.

But he said the stand-off would be resolved only if the UK stated that the sailors and marines had been in Iranian waters last Friday, which it denies.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has held talks with Iran on the issue.

His spokesman said the detention was one of the issues discussed during a meeting with Iranian foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki at a summit of Arab leaders in the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh.

I am very concerned about these pictures and any indication of pressure or coercion

Margaret Beckett, Foreign Secretary

The European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said he had spoken briefly to Mr Mottaki at the summit and reiterated the EU's call for an end to the "illegal" detention.

The Foreign Office said it was waiting for further details on possible consular access, and that no official offer had yet been made by Iran.

Letter shown

In the Iranian TV interview, Leading Seaman Turney, 26, said the group had been seized in the Gulf because "obviously we trespassed" in Iranian waters.

She said her captors had been friendly and the 15 personnel, who were all based on HMS Cornwall in the Gulf, were unharmed.




Extract from letter

The video showed a letter, said to have been written by Leading Seaman Turney, who is from Shrewsbury, to her parents in which she admitted that the navy personnel had "apparently" crossed into Iranian waters.

The pictures also featured the 14 servicemen seized along with Leading Seaman Turney.

Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said: "I am very concerned about these pictures and any indication of pressure or coercion of our personnel who were carrying out a routine operation in accordance with international law and under a United Nations Resolution."

Defence Secretary Des Browne said it was "completely unacceptable to parade our people in this way".

Former RAF pilot John Nichol, who was put on television by the Iraqis after being shot down in the first Gulf War, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he had "no doubt" Leading Seaman Turney had been told what to say.

"It is a very difficult position - and she's in an unenviable position where she has to try to placate the people that have captured her and try to keep the whole group safe," he said.

GPS evidence

Iran has not disclosed where the service personnel are being held but the BBC has been told they are at a military base in Tehran.

UK VERSION OF EVENTS

1 Crew boards merchant ship 1.7NM inside Iraqi waters
2 HMS Cornwall was south-east of this, and inside Iraqi waters
3 Iran tells UK that merchant ship was at a different point, still within Iraqi waters
4 After UK points this out, Iran provides alternative position, now within Iranian waters



UK version in more detail

Tony Blair has said it is time for the UK to "ratchet up" pressure on Iran.

Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff, Vice Admiral Charles Style, has produced data which he said proved the boarding party was 1.7 nautical miles inside Iraqi waters.

The Ministry of Defence also released a photograph of a handheld global positioning satellite device in HMS Cornwall's Lynx helicopter as it flew over the merchant vessel which was searched by the group before they were seized.

Ed Owen, who was an advisor to Jack Straw during his time as foreign secretary, told BBC Radio Five Live he thought Iran had deliberately engineered the incident.

"There are people in the Iranian regime who believe that the way to address what they regard as the dangers of the West, as well as expanding Iranian influence, is to confront the West," he said.

The Iranian embassy in London said the Britons had been 0.5 km inside Iranian territorial waters.

[Rasputin]

Iran releases letter, video of captured Britons

Iran displayed three detained British naval personnel on television on Friday and released a letter from one saying she was being held because of "oppressive" British and U.S. behavior in Iraq.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said the footage of three of the 15 British captives heightened people's disgust at the treatment of the sailors and marines and risked isolating Tehran further -- but he urged calm and patience over the crisis.

"I am writing to you as a British service person who has been sent to Iraq, sacrificed due to the intervening policies of the Bush and Blair governments," said the third letter from sailor Faye Turney, released by Iran's embassy in London.

Iran seized the sailors and marines in the northern Gulf last Friday when they were on a U.N. mission searching for smugglers in Iraqi waters. Tehran says they strayed into Iranian waters but Britain insists they were well in Iraqi territory.

London has been pushing for international condemnation but failed to get the U.N. Security Council to pass a strongly worded draft statement. Instead, it expressed "grave concern."

In London, Iran's embassy said both governments were working together closely to find a mutually acceptable solution and that it could be settled bilaterally.

Russia, which had blocked moves for a stronger position, said it wanted the U.N. Secretariat to deal with the dispute.
EU foreign ministers voiced solidarity with Britain at a summit in Germany and deplored the seizure of the naval personnel but stopped short of suspending normal business with Tehran over the week-old row as London has done.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said: "Tony Blair has made his comments and we strongly stand behind him."

Asked if she believed the crisis was closer to confrontation and armed conflict, she said: "There's no indication of that. No, I believe that everyone believes it can be solved diplomatically."

The Gulf Cooperation Council, a loose political and economic alliance of Iran's U.S.-allied Gulf Arab neighbors -- Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, also urged an end to the confrontation.

"Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary-General Abdul-Rahman al-Attiya called for the release of the British sailors held in Iran, in compliance with international maritime law," the official Qatari News Agency reported.

"He expressed hope that the British and Iranian governments would apply self-restraint, flexibility and wisdom to solve this crisis," the agency said.

British forces have been deployed in southern Iraq since joining the U.S.-led invasion of the country in 2003. Britain and the United States accuse Iran of allowing sophisticated weapons used to target their forces to be brought into Iraq.

The crisis, at a time of heightened Middle East tensions over Iran's nuclear ambitions, has helped push oil prices to six-month highs over concerns an escalation might curb crucial oil exports from the region.
The video showed two men in khaki uniforms and a woman in blue fatigues and a headscarf talking calmly and smiling in a room with a floral wallpaper background.

"We trespassed without permission," said the sailor, who gave his name as Nathan Thomas Summers and said they were being treated well. "I would like to apologize for entering your waters without any permission ... I deeply apologize."

Blair said the only possible outcome from the standoff was the release of the British personnel and that London would consult its allies over the weekend.

"I really don't know why the Iranian regime keeps doing this. All it does is enhance people's disgust at captured personnel being paraded and manipulated in this way," he said.

"What the Iranians have to realize is that if they continue in this way they will face increasing isolation."

COMPLICATED STRUCTURE

The video release came as Britain said it was considering a note from Tehran that appeared to resemble a statement used to resolve a similar standoff in 2004 when Iran seized eight British servicemen and held them for three days.

However Britain's Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said after the video was shown that there was nothing in the note from Iran to suggest Tehran was looking for a way out.
The letter said Iran respected the rules and principles of international law concerning the territorial integrity of states

and that Britain must accept its responsibility for the consequences of any border violation.

The letter did not appear to demand an apology from Britain as several Iranian officials had previously called for.

Analysts said efforts to resolve the standoff were complicated by Iran's political structure.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry is not in charge here," said Mark Fitzpatrick, senior fellow for non-proliferation at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

"They're having to work out a face-saving diplomatic solution, but I don't think the Revolutionary Guards want a diplomatic solution. So it's going to be hard to choreograph something when you have internal friction."

The hardline Guards are the ideological wing of Iran's armed forces with a separate command structure.

[Rasputin]

Legal action is being taken against 15 Royal Navy personnel held captive by Iran for "entering Iranian waters", a senior Iranian diplomat has said.
Gholamreza Ansari, Iran's ambassador to Moscow, said "legal process" had started but denied reports which quoted him saying the group may face trial.

The UK government says the captives were seized in Iraqi waters and is demanding their "immediate" return.

Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said Mr Ansari's comments were "unhelpful".

'Misquoted'

Iran's official IRNA news agency earlier carried a report saying the envoy had told Russian television that legal moves against the 15 had already started and that there was a possibility they could stand trial.

But the agency later quoted Mr Ansari saying the television channel had made a "translation mistake" when quoting him saying the group could face charges and a trial.

Britain denies Iran's claims that the UK crew was in its waters when seized on 23 March and is demanding their "immediate" return.

UK VERSION OF EVENTS
1 Crew boards merchant ship 1.7NM inside Iraqi waters
2 HMS Cornwall was south-east of this, and inside Iraqi waters
3 Iran tells UK that merchant ship was at a different point, still within Iraqi waters
4 After UK points this out, Iran provides alternative position, now within Iranian waters



Second 'apology' in full
Faye Turney's 'letters'

Speaking at a European Union meeting in the German city of Bremen, Mrs Beckett said she wanted a swift diplomatic solution to the crisis.

"I think everyone regrets that this position has arisen. What we want is a way out of it - we want it peacefully and we want it as soon as possible," she said.

Mrs Beckett confirmed that a British diplomatic note had been sent to the Iranians, but gave no detail of the contents.

She also expressed "concern" about claims by Mr Ansari that the British personnel could face legal action.

"I don't think it's helpful to Iran, I don't think it's helpful to our detainees - I think that is not the tone really that I would wish anyone to strike," she said.

But she added that things had "gone a little quieter" in the negotiations and she hoped that was "a good sign" that Iran was "thinking afresh what is the way out of this situation".

IRANIAN VERSION OF EVENTS
1 Royal Navy crew stray 0.5km inside Iranian waters
2 Iran gives set of co-ordinates to back up their claims
3 According to seized GPS equipment, the Royal Navy crew had previously entered Iranian waters at several other points
4 Iran informs Britain of the position where the crew were seized, inside Iranian waters



Both versions in more detail

Earlier, US state department spokesman Sean McCormack rejected suggestions that a swap could be made for five Iranians captured in Iraq by US forces in January.

The Iranians, believed to be members of the Revolutionary Guard, were taken in a raid in the city of Irbil, along with equipment which the Americans say shows clear Iranian links to networks supplying Iraqi insurgents with technology and weapons.

US officials have condemned Iran's actions over the 15 Navy personnel and publicly supported the UK.

And European Union foreign ministers, meeting in Bremen, Germany, called for "the immediate and unconditional release" of the sailors and expressed "unconditional support" for Britain's position.

Prime Minister Tony Blair has also criticised Iran for "parading" the UK crew on television in a way which would only "enhance people's sense of disgust".

'Sacrificed'

In what appeared to be an edited broadcast on an Iranian channel on Friday, captured sailor Nathan Thomas Summers said: "I would like to apologise for entering your waters without permission."

He was shown alongside two colleagues, one of whom was Leading Seaman Faye Turney, from Shropshire, who had been broadcast apologising to Iran earlier in the week.

HAVE YOUR SAY
They will have to be released by diplomatic means and I believe that this will happen

Neil Whittaker, Lancashire, UK


Send us your comments

A letter, allegedly from LS Turney, was released on Friday in which she said she had been "sacrificed" to UK and US government policy.

Along with LS Turney and Nathan Summers, who is from Cornwall, they are Paul Barton from Southport, Danny Masterton from Ayrshire, Joe Tindall from south London and Adam Sperry from Leicester are among the captured personnel.

The Britons, based on HMS Cornwall, were seized by Revolutionary Guards as they returned from searching a vessel in the northern Gulf.

[Rasputin]

:" دس براون" وزير دفاع انگليس روز يكشنبه گفت كه در مورد بازداشت ۱۵ نظامى انگليسى "در ارتباط مستقيم دوجانبه" با ايران است.

به گزارش خبرگزارى فرانسه از لندن،وى در مصاحبه*اى با تلويزيون بي*بي*سى در افغانستان گفت "ما آرزومنديم اين موضوع هرچه سريعتر حل شود و از راههاى ديپلماتيك نيز حل شود و هر تلاشى در اين راه مي*كنيم."
براون همچنين گفت " قصد ندارم وارد جزييات لحظه به لحظه شوم و اين كار مناسب نيز نيست، اما ما در ارتباط مستقيم دوجانبه با ايرانيان هستيم.

خبرگزارى فرانسه درگزارشى ديگر از تهران نوشت كه ايران مذاكره مستقيم با انگليس در مورد نظاميان بازداشتى را تاييد كرده*است.

بنابراين گزارش، مقام ايرانى كه به شرط ناشناس ماندن صحبت مي*كرد، به خبرگزارى فرانسه گفت مذاكرات "هرگز قطع نشده بود كه نيازى به از سر گرفتن آن باشد."
وى افزوده است " و نشانه آن اين است كه وزيران خارجه دو كشور در حال مبادله پيام بوده*اند. ايران هرگز نمي*خواسته راه ديپلماتيك را ببندد، مگر اينكه دولت انگليس چنين شرايطى ايجاد كند."

[Rasputin]

Iranian state television has aired new footage of two of the 15 Royal Navy personnel captured nine days ago.
Royal Marine Capt Chris Air and Lt Felix Carman were shown separately in front of a chart of the Gulf, where the Britons were seized on 23 March.

Capt Air said Iranian maps apparently showed the group was inside Iranian territorial waters. Lt Carman said he understood why Iran was angry.

The Foreign Office described showing the TV footage as "unacceptable".

'Treated well'

In the footage shown on official TV channel Al-Alam, Capt Air is shown describing how the group was captured.

He said: "Approximately about ten o'clock in the morning we were seized - apparently at this point here from their maps on the GPS they've shown us - which is inside Iranian territorial waters."

We've been treated very well by all the people here

Capt Chris Air


British officers' statements

He went on to say that the crew had been "treated very well".

Lt Carman also pointed to the map to indicate where the crew had been captured and said he understood why the Iranians were "angry about the intrusion".

Britain denies Iran's claims that the UK crew was in its waters and is demanding their "immediate" return.

In a statement, the Foreign Office said: "It's completely unacceptable for these pictures to be shown on television, given the potential to cause distress to their families."

BBC diplomatic correspondent James Robbins said there was "no question" that the footage would "intensify" the government's efforts to resolve the crisis diplomatically.

Although the showing of the video "poisoned the climate" it should not suggest that diplomacy was not working, he added.

'Under pressure'

Ex-Navy chief Admiral Sir Alan West told the BBC the UK personnel were under intense pressure.

"It's very unlikely that any of them would have had counter interrogation-type training which we give to people like aircrew and special forces when they go in," he said.

The footage was "a charade" set up for "internal show in Iran and other parts of the Arab world", he added.

Iranian students earlier threw stones and firecrackers at the British embassy in the capital Tehran in protest against what they said was the "illegal entry" into their waters by the UK personnel.

BBC correspondent Frances Harrison said the protesters were chanting "death to Britain" and calling for the deportation of the British ambassador.

The Britons, based on HMS Cornwall, were seized by Revolutionary Guards as they returned from searching a vessel in the northern Gulf.