VARIOUS: Iran delays detained Briton's release; UK seeks support

Iran has suspended the release of a British woman who was detained among a group of 15 British naval personnel Tehran says entered Iranian waters illegally, Iran's Mehr News Agency reported on Thursday (March 29). The Iranian Foreign Ministry had reported on Wednesday (March 28) that Iran would release Faye Turney but it fell short of saying when the sailor would be released. In Tehran, a small group of demonstrators on Thursday held a protest outside the foreign ministry and called for the 15 sailors to be executed as spies. Some held placards calling for the detained Britons to be executed. "The release of a female British soldier has been suspended," the Mehr news said in a report that quoted military commander Alireza Afshar. "The wrong behaviour of those who live in London caused the suspension," it added. The secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, said earlier on Thursday that Iran would delay the release of Turney if Britain made a "fuss" about the case. "During the investigation, we even said the grounds were ready for the release of a woman amongst this group (the British sailors), however if we are faced with altercations and inappropriate behaviour from British officials, then this (the release) will be suspended, and it will not take place," Larijani said on Iranian state television. Britain insists its 15 sailors and marines were seized last week in Iraqi waters and has published what it says is proof from a global positioning system readout. An Iranian naval official was quoted by IRNA news agency as saying the Britons' boats entered Iranian territory several times before they were seized and Iran had film to prove it. The European Union's Foreign Policy Chief, Javier Solana, told the European Parliament on Thursday that he had spoken briefly to Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki at an Arab summit in Riyadh a day earlier and stressed that the EU as a whole found the detention of the British sailors captured in the Gulf unacceptable. "We hope that in the next few days and weeks we shall be able, with the leaders of Iran, not just to solve the problem with the United Kingdom but to begin once again negotiations that could lead us to a definitive solution to this (nuclear) problem. There is no alternative ladies and gentlemen and we must resume negotiations as soon as possible" Solana told the parliament. Oil prices remained near six-month highs on concerns that any escalation could hit crucial oil supplies from the Gulf. The United Nations hit Iran with sanctions at the weekend over its nuclear programme. Washington and London also blame Iran for backing insurgents battling their forces in Iraq. Britain is seeking approval from the U.N. Security Council for a statement deploring the detention of the sailors and government sources said Britain would discuss practical measures at an EU foreign ministers' meeting this weekend. Prime Minister Tony Blair's official spokesman said Britain was not seeking a confrontation with Iran and wanted the standoff resolved as quickly as possible. Analysts said they suspected Iran wanted the diplomatic wrangle to take the international focus away from its nuclear energy programme, which the West fears is ultimately designed to produce atomic weapons. Britain has halted all official travel between the UK and Iran and suspended visa issuing and support for trade missions. Western partners have not taken specific actions but leaders in Washington and the European Union voiced strong support. Tehran angered many in Britain by releasing video of the only woman crew member captured, wearing a black Islamic headscarf and smoking a cigarette. Britain said parading the female sailor, Faye Turney, and other captured British personnel, was completely unacceptable and it fears the sailors may have been coerced into appearing. The United States has called Iran's behaviour "reprehensible" and "odious".

ITN Source | March 29, 2007

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