"We were informed by Iraqi fishermen after they had returned from sea that
there were British gunboats in an area that is out of Iraqi control," Brig.
Gen. Hakim Jassim told AP Television News in the southern city of Basra.
"We don't know why they were there," he said.
The news agency Fars said navigational equipment on the seized British boats
"show that they (sailors) were aware that they were operating in Iranian waters
and Iranian border guards fulfilled their responsibility."
Iran: U.K. Troops Admit to Illegal Entry With tensions running high, the
United States has bolstered its naval forces in the Persian Gulf in a show of
strength directed at Iran. U.S. officials have expressed concern that with so
much military hardware in the Gulf, a small incident like Friday's could
escalate into a dangerous confrontation.
In his comments on the sailors, Afshar added a warning that the United States
would not be able to control the consequences if it attacks Iran.
Commodore Nick Lambert, commander of the Royal Navy frigate HMS Cornwall,
speaks aboard his ship Friday March 23, 2007in this image made from television.
Iranian naval vessels seized 15 British sailors from HMS Cornwall, who had
boarded a merchant ship in Iraqi waters of the Persian Gulf as part of efforts
to protect the Iraqi coastline and its oil terminals, U.S. and British
officials Friday March 23, 2007. The British government summoned the Iranian
ambassador in London and demanded "the immediate and safe return of our people
and equipment." The U.S. Navy, which operates off the Iraqi coast along with
British forces, said Iran's Revolutionary Guard naval forces were
responsible.(AP Photo/AP Television News) (AP)
PHOTOS
The week's events from around the world, captured in pictures.
» VIEW THIS WEEK'S PHOTOS
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"The United States and its allies know that if they make any mistake in their
calculations ... they will not be able to control the dimensions and limit the
duration of a war," Afshar said.
In June 2004, six British marines and two sailors were seized by Iran in the
same waterway. They were presented blindfolded on Iranian television and
admitted entering Iranian waters illegally, then released unharmed after three
days.
Earlier this week, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, warned this
week that if Western countries "treat us with threats and enforcement of
coercion and violence, undoubtedly they must know that the Iranian nation and
authorities will use all their capacities to strike enemies that attack."
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini accused the British
of "violating the sovereign boundaries" of Iran, calling the entry a "blatant
aggression."
He accused Britain of trying to cover up the incursion, saying it should
"refrain from putting the blame on others."
The seizure of the Britons took place in an area where boundaries between
Iraqi and Iranian waters have long been disputed. A 1975 treaty set the center
of the Shatt al-Arab _ the 125-mile-long channel known in Iran as the Arvand
River _ as the border.
But Saddam Hussein canceled the 1975 treaty five years later and invaded
Iran, triggering an eight-year war. Virtually all of Iraq's oil is exported
through a terminal near the mouth of the channel.
Britain's Defense Ministry said the Royal Navy personnel were in Iraqi
territorial waters when they were seized. Cmdr. Kevin Aandahl of the U.S.
Navy's Fifth Fleet in Bahrain also said it was "very clear" they were in Iraqi
waters.
"We've been on operations there for several years," Aandahl said. He said
coalition vessels respect the 1975 treaty.
The sailors, from the frigate HMS Cornwall, are part of a task force that
maintains security in Iraqi waters under authority of the U.N. Security Council.
The Cornwall's commander, Commodore Nick Lambert, said he hoped the detention
was a "simple mistake" stemming from the unclear border.
But the Iraqi military commander of the country's territorial waters said the
British boats may not have been in Iraqi territory.
"We were informed by Iraqi fishermen after they had returned from sea that
there were British gunboats in an area that is out of Iraqi control," Brig.
Gen. Hakim Jassim told AP Television News in the southern city of Basra.
"We don't know why they were there," he said.
The news agency Fars said navigational equipment on the seized British boats
"show that they (sailors) were aware that they were operating in Iranian waters
and Iranian border guards fulfilled their responsibility."
"Strive as in a race to achieve the
goal of excellence in all that you do."
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