Asia-Pacific

    Iran denounces British sailors for entering its waters

    (Xinhua)
    Updated: 2007-03-25 19:52
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    TEHRAN -- Iran has angrily reacted over the British authority for its sailors "illegally" entering of the Iranian waters Friday, as the row between the two sides entered its third day on Sunday.

    Iran denounces British sailors for entering its waters
    Iraqi coastguards patrol the waters close to the border with Iran. Iran has said that 15 British service personnel detained by its navy have admitted violating its territorial waters, rejecting demands from London for their swift release. [Xinhua]

    Condemning the incident as an "interventionist and suspicious move" against Iran's sovereignty, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini started the verbal combat first on Saturday morning right after London's demand for returning the sailors and equipment and denied charges from Tehran.

    "This is an illegal and interventionist entry into Iranian territorial waters, it's a suspicious move and contrary to international rules and regulations," he was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency.

    "Violating the sovereign boundaries of other states and illegal entry denote unusual goals in violation of international commitments, the responsibility for which cannot be evaded under any justification," he added.

    Hosseini also accused the British side of trying to cover up their "illegal entry", saying British officials instead of making up for their blunders should try to refrain from putting the blame on others by way of "irrelevant interpretations".

    According to a report from local Fars news agency, the 15 detained British sailors, including one woman, have been moved to Iran's capital of Tehran for further investigations.

    An unnamed official was quoted as saying that "Iranian border guards fulfilled their responsibilities, because navigational equipment on the seized British boats shows the sailors were aware that they were operating in Iranian waters".

    Besides, Iranian military officer General Alireza Afshar said on Saturday that the British sailors who were detained by Iran's forces when they were patrolling off the Iraqi border, have "confessed their mistakes of illegally entering Iranian waters."

    "Right now they are being interrogated, and they have confessed the illegal entry of territorial waters of the Islamic republic," Iran's state-run television quoted Afshar as saying.

    Afshar said Iran had "solid evidence" that the sailors were detained in Iranian waters, adding "they themselves have admitted the mistake."

    "The British create a climate of tension at a moment when a (UN Security Council) resolution against Iran (over its nuclear program) is to be voted despite the fact that Iran seeks calm and stability in the region," he said.

    "We are continuing to question the British sailors in order to make sure their real intentions," said the officer.

    Reports reaching here from London said the British authorities have confirmed that 15 British naval personnel were seized Friday by Iranian forces when they were patrolling off the Iraqi borders.

    British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett insisted the soldiers were operating in Iraqi waters, summoned the Iranian ambassador in London and requested Tehran to return the detainees.

    Some British and U.S. officials have said the incident took place when the British soldiers were engaged in routine boarding operations of merchant shipping in Iraqi territorial waters in support of UN Security Council Resolution 1723 and the government of Iraq.

    However, the Iranian Foreign Ministry Friday night summoned British charge d' affairs Kate Smith to the ministry to receive the firm protest for the actions and up to now showed no sign of a swift release of the sailors.

    This Iranian officials' hardline comments came just a few hours before the sanction resolution vote against Tehran's nuclear program at the UN Security Council.

    Some international media were afraid that this incident may escalate the current tensions between Iran and the West.

    The five permanent member states of the Security Council – the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France -- plus Germany passed the Resolution 1747 Saturday to impose more severe sanctions on Iran after it failed to respect the Resolution 1701which calls for Tehran's suspension of uranium enrichment.

    Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, who was instead of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to attend the vote meeting, strongly criticized the Security Council decision, terming it as "unlawful, unnecessary and unjustifiable actions" orchestrated by some countries.

    Iran has insisted its nuclear program is for civilian purposes only.

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