Pressure mounts in Iran sailors crisis
Iran tonight ratcheted up the pressure in the growing diplomatic crisis over the detention of the eight Royal Navy sailors, parading them blindfolded on state-run television.
Downing Street warned Tehran that it expected the men to be treated in accordance with international law after the pictures were broadcast on the official Arab-language Al-Aram station.
A Foreign Office spokesman said that they were “extremely concerned” about the development and would be raising the matter with the Iranians “at the appropriate level”.
Further television pictures tonight showed two of the captured men – not blindfolded this time – apparently confessing to the intrusion into Iranian waters and apologising for the incident.
Earlier Foreign Secretary Jack Straw intervened personally with his Iranian counterpart, Kamal Kharazzi, to appeal for the men’s release while the Iranian ambassador was summoned to the Foreign Office for an explanation.
There were conflicting signals tonight from Tehran over how the authorities intended to deal with the men who were arrested yesterday after their patrol boats apparently strayed into Iranian territorial waters close to the Iraq border.
While Al-Aram said they faced prosecution after confessing to illegally entering Iranian waters, a senior military officer was later reported as saying they could be released if it could be shown that they did not have “bad intentions”.
Officially the Iranian government was saying little and would not even tell British diplomats who was holding the men or where they were being detained.
However, the screening of the pictures of the men blindfolded alarmed both Downing Street and the Foreign Office.
“We will continue to underline to the Iranian government that we expect the people involved to be treated under the relevant international criteria,” the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said.
“We will be reminding Iran of its obligations under international law.”
