U.N. weighs in on Iran-Britain dispute

updated 7:51 p.m. ET March 29, 2007

UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. Security Council expressed “grave concern” Thursday over Iran’s seizure of 15 British sailors and marines and called for an early resolution of the escalating dispute, but Iran’s chief international negotiator suggested the captives might be put on trial.

As the standoff drove world oil prices to new six-month highs, Turkey, NATO’s only Muslim member, reportedly sought to calm tensions by urging Iran to let a Turkish diplomat meet with the detainees and to free the lone woman among the Britons.

Tensions had seemed to be cooling a day earlier, but after Iran angered British leaders by airing a video of the prisoners and Britain touched a nerve in Tehran by seeking U.N. help, positions hardened even more Thursday.

Iran retreated from a pledge by Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki that the female sailor, Faye Turney, would be released soon. Mottaki then repeated that the matter could be resolved if Britain admitted its sailors mistakenly entered Iranian territorial waters last Friday.

Britain’s Foreign Office insisted again that the sailors and marines were seized in an Iraqi-controlled area while searching merchant ships under a U.N. mandate and said no admission of error would be made.

Trial next?
With Britain taking its case to the United Nations, Ali Larijani, the top Iranian negotiator in all his country’s foreign dealings, went on Iranian state radio to issue a warning.

He said that if Britain continued its current approach, “this case may face a legal path” — a clear reference to Iran prosecuting the sailors and marines in court. “British leaders have miscalculated this issue,” he said.

Gen. Ali Reza Afshar, Iran’s military chief, blamed the backtracking on releasing the British woman on “wrong behavior” by her government. “The release of a female British soldier has been suspended,” the semiofficial Iranian news agency Mehr said.

The Security Council’s statement was a watered-down version of a stronger draft sought by Britain to “deplore” Iranian actions and urge the immediate release of the prisoners, primarily because Russia opposed putting blame on the Tehran regime, diplomats said.

Russia also objected to the council adopting Britain’s position that its sailors were operating in Iraqi waters when they were captured, the diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

With agreement required from all 15 members for a statement’s wording, the parties spent more than four hours in private talks before emerging with wording softer than had been sought by Britain, which is also known as the United Kingdom.

“Members of the Security Council expressed grave concern at the capture by the Revolutionary Guard and the continuing detention by the government of Iran of 15 United Kingdom naval personnel and appealed to the government of Iran to allow consular access in terms of the relevant international laws,” the statement said.

“Members of the Security Council support calls including by the secretary-general in his March 29 meeting with the Iranian foreign minister for an early resolution of this problem including the release of the 15 U.K. personnel.”

British Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry expressed hope it would send “the right message” to the Iranian government to provide immediate access to the prisoners and bring their prompt release.

Earlier, Iranian state television reported what was believed to be President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s first comment on the standoff, saying he accused Britain of using propaganda rather than trying to solve the matter quietly through diplomatic channels.

Turkey offers to mediate
Iran’s state TV also said Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip had contacted Ahmadinejad seeking permission for a Turkish diplomat to meet with the seized Britons and urging the release of Turney, the female sailor.

Erdogan’s move was seen as a possible opening to mediation in the face-off because Turkey is one of the few countries that has good relations with both Iran and the West.

The report said Ahmadinejad promised that Erdogan’s appeal would be studied, but also told the Turkish leader that the detention case had entered a legal investigation phase.

State television also broadcast a video it said showed show the operation that seized the British sailors and marines. In the clip, a helicopter hovers above inflatable boats in choppy seas, then the Royal Navy crews are seen seated in an Iranian vessel.

The video came a day after Iran broadcast a longer video showing the Britons in captivity. That video included a segment showing Turney saying her team had “trespassed” in Iranian waters.

British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett condemned Iran’s use of Turney for what she called “propaganda purposes,” calling it “outrageous and cruel.”

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