Iran Softens Stance On Britons
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran said yesterday it was questioning 15 British sailors and marines to determine if their alleged entry into Iranian waters was “intentional or unintentional” before deciding what to do with them — the first sign it could be seeking a way out of the standoff.
The two countries continued to disagree about where the military personnel were seized Friday, with Britain insisting they were in Iraqi waters after searching a civilian cargo vessel and the Tehran regime saying it had proof they were in Iranian territory.
Britain’s Defense Ministry said they were seized in the Shatt al-Arab, a waterway flowing into the Persian Gulf that marks the border between Iran and Iraq.
But the dividing line in the waterway, known in Iran as the Arvand River, has long been disputed.
The Iranian emphasis yesterday on the detainees’ intent was a noticeable pullback from the certainty expressed Saturday by Iran’s military chief, General Ali Reza Afshar. General Afshar said then that the 15 confessed to “aggression into the Islamic Republic of Iran’s waters.”
Other Iranian officials suggested afterward that the Britons might be charged with a crime — presumably espionage or trespassing — for knowingly entering Iran’s territorial waters.
Deputy Foreign Minister Mehzi Mostafavi took a softer line yesterday while saying that the 14 men and one woman were still being interrogated.
“It should become clear whether their entry was intentional or unintentional. After that is clarified, the necessary decision will be made,” Mr. Mostafavi said.
Iran has refused to say where the captured Britons were being held or to allow British officials to speak with them, but assured the British ambassador to Tehran, Geoffrey Adams, that they were in good health.
During an official visit to Turkey yesterday, British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett called for Iran to allow access to the captives. “We will continue to press the Iranian authorities until the incident has been resolved with the safe return of our personnel and their equipment,” she said.
