Iran softens stance on British sailors

[maddezmom]

Source: Associated Press

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran said Monday it was questioning 15 British sailors and marines to determine if their alleged entry into Iranian waters was "intentional or unintentional" before deciding what to do with them — the first sign it could be seeking a way out of the standoff.

The two countries continued to disagree about where the military personnel were seized Friday, with Britain insisting they were in Iraqi waters after searching a civilian cargo vessel and the Tehran regime saying it had proof they were in Iranian territory.

Britain's Defense Ministry said they were seized in the Shatt al-Arab, a waterway flowing into the Persian Gulf that marks the border between Iran and Iraq. But the dividing line in the waterway, known in Iran as the Arvand river, has long been disputed.

The Iranian emphasis Monday on the detainees' intent was a noticeable pullback from the certainty expressed Saturday by Iran's military chief, Gen. Ali Reza Afshar. Afshar said then that the 15 confessed to "aggression into the Islamic Republic of Iran's waters."



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070326/ap_on_re_mi_ea/british_seized_iran;_ylt=AuUrStEgZJRQ5l1rqOzbsias0NUE

[Kagemusha]

1. Oh, so that's it. They could both agree on the exact GPS position but...

Britain will say it's not Iranian waters and Iran will say it is.

Fun.

[Lobster Martini]

2. That is a whole lot more encouraging than the news I read this morning

The reports from the Telegraph and the Financial Times this morning gave the impression that the situation was about to get really ugly. Of course it does imply that Iran was lying about the "confessions."

[yava]

3. international mandate

Is it really under international mandate that the Brits are there?

[Amonester]

4. yeah... maybe the (still) civilized world could raise the question at...

the UN...

Wait...

Is there any UN somewhere anymore?? :shrug:

If not, just Who destroyed it (and for what?)? (OIL?) :grr: