Iranian Vessels Seize British Navy Personnel in Iraqi Waters

[singern]

Iranian Vessels Seize 15 British Navy Personnel in Iraqi Waters
Friday, March 23, 2007


WASHINGTON — Iranian naval vessels seized 15 British sailors and marines Friday in Iraqi waters, the Ministry of Defense said.

The British personnel from the frigate HMS Cornwall were "engaged in routine boarding operations of merchant shipping in Iraqi territorial waters," and had completed their inspection of a merchant ship when they were accosted by Iranian vessels, the ministry said in a statement.

"We are urgently pursuing this matter with the Iranian authorities at the highest level and ... the Iranian ambassador has been summoned to the Foreign Office," the ministry said.

"The British government is demanding the immediate and safe return of our people and equipment."


IMO:
The Iranians better know that they are pulling the tigers tail. and i think the tiger is pissed.

[Snrf]

wtf, is Iran retarded??

[singern]

since the abduction was done in Iraqi waters under the orders of the Iraqi government, I would have to say YES they are.

[Flagg]

I just heard this on the radio.

Apparantly Iran is claiming we were in their waters. The immediate release of the Royal Marines has already been issued.

Wonder what will happen next.

[Prada]

Snow said the sailors "were moved into Iranian waters" and, when asked how the United States was responding, stressed "at this point, what we're doing is staying in touch with the Brits."

Quite an implicit statement, not sure what Tony Snow exactly means by that.

[biglouie250]

why did they surrender? i cant imagine iran having a warship that intimidate the brits into surrender. a frigate is a capable warship.

[biglouie250]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Cornwall_%28F99%29

wiki is all over this lol.

[Red Ketchup]

No offence biglouie, but thats typical American ignorance of anything outside your borders... you seem to think that outside the US nobody has any effective military forces.

Have a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_Navy and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Current...n_Navy_Vessels

Iran may not have the most recent equipment in their Navy, but they obviously got enough stuff to be taken seriously by the brits who were "seized".

As for this story, I guess the real question is if the UK soldiers were in Irakian or Iranian waters... and we'll probably never know one way or another.

My guess is that they were in Irakian waters and the Iranian navy dudes messed up...

Red

EDIT: Darn bro, you're faster than me!

[biglouie250]

No offence biglouie, but thats typical American ignorance of anything outside your borders... you seem to think that outside the US nobody has any effective military forces.

Have a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_Navy and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Current...n_Navy_Vessels

[/i]

i think you made my point for me. they have 3 non nuclear subs, and none of their ships were built after 1981. all the ships in their force look like US and Russian self offs. also they have nothing higher in class then a destroyer and in fact have 0 active destroyers.


in reading some other articles it says that they had 6 vessels surround the brits.....so in this case numbers mattered.

[Benches505]

.



in reading some other articles it says that they had 6 vessels surround the brits.....so in this case numbers mattered.

In this case 3 or 4 spartans should have been enough to win the battle

[Red Ketchup]

i think you made my point for me. they have 3 non nuclear subs, and none of their ships were built after 1981. all the ships in their force look like US and Russian self offs. also they have nothing higher in class then a destroyer and in fact have 0 active destroyers.

Indeed, and if the US were to go all out on them they obviously would not have a chance (but then again except for maybe Russia, UK, France and China who would have a chance?)

My point was that even if they don't have the most up to date and recent toys, they still have dangerous equipment which they obviously know how to use effectively (as demonstrated by this incident). I would certainly not dismiss them so lightly.

Red

[singern]

Do not take the Iranians lightly, they have a powerful military. Although outdated they have massive fire power and strength in numbers. And are fueled by an ideology that glorifies death.

As to why the British forces surrendered, from what I understand this was 15 marines aboard 2 inflatable hulled boats, when the boarding party's were surrounded by Iranian war ships. Im sure there will be more details as the story progresses.

[spywizard]

Iranian Vessels Seize 15 British Navy Personnel in Iraqi Waters
Friday, March 23, 2007


WASHINGTON — Iranian naval vessels seized 15 British sailors and marines Friday in Iraqi waters, the Ministry of Defense said.

The British personnel from the frigate HMS Cornwall were "engaged in routine boarding operations of merchant shipping in Iraqi territorial waters," and had completed their inspection of a merchant ship when they were accosted by Iranian vessels, the ministry said in a statement.

"We are urgently pursuing this matter with the Iranian authorities at the highest level and ... the Iranian ambassador has been summoned to the Foreign Office," the ministry said.

"The British government is demanding the immediate and safe return of our people and equipment."


IMO:
The Iranians better know that they are pulling the tigers tail. and i think the tiger is pissed.

yea, the brits can turn nasty on you in an instant.. did you ever see their teeth?? i mean they have reason to be pissed...

[Benches505]

yea, the brits can turn nasty on you in an instant.. did you ever see their teeth?? i mean they have reason to be pissed...

Big ass teeth!

[Booz]

[QUOTE=Flagg]I just heard this on the radio.

Apparantly Iran is claiming we were in their waters. The immediate release of the Royal Marines has already been issued.

Wonder what will happen next.[/QUOTE]

they will either give us back our personnell or i would think they will get their backward ass slapped.................

[Flagg]

Ere Booze, I love how Americans see the stereotype of Brits having bad teeth yet noone mentions the yokels that live in the deep south that have all of about one or two teeth in their own head and eye lashes growing on their cheeks. All called Noah or Cleveland or Earl.

[Booz]

Ere Booze, I love how Americans see the stereotype of Brits having bad teeth yet noone mentions the yokels that live in the deep south that have all of about one or two teeth in their own head and eye lashes growing on their cheeks. All called Noah or Cleveland or Earl.

lol and 95% of them are overweight obese fvckers....................

[Flagg]

lol and 95% of them are overweight obese fvckers....................

I think that calls for a England 2 America 0 with a for good measure.

[Benches505]

Ere Booze, I love how Americans see the stereotype of Brits having bad teeth yet noone mentions the yokels that live in the deep south that have all of about one or two teeth in their own head and eye lashes growing on their cheeks. All called Noah or Cleveland or Earl.

LMAO! I live in the deep south surrounded by these "yokels"

they also love nascar

[Act of God]

Ere Booze, I love how Americans see the stereotype of Brits having bad teeth yet noone mentions the yokels that live in the deep south that have all of about one or two teeth in their own head and eye lashes growing on their cheeks. All called Noah or Cleveland or Earl.

Ha, says the guy from the Moon. You mooneys suck!

[alphaman]

Ere Booze, I love how Americans see the stereotype of Brits having bad teeth yet noone mentions the yokels that live in the deep south that have all of about one or two teeth in their own head and eye lashes growing on their cheeks. All called Noah or Cleveland or Earl.

Dude. All you have to do is go to Disney World. There are more Brits there than you would believe. They can't represent the poor population, and I can tell you that 85% of them have a mouth full of crooked, yellow chiclets.

And the Americans you are referring to aren't from the deep south. They're from West Virginia and Kentucky.

[Prada]

This topic went off on a tangent.


They also drink budweiser while driving without a seatbelt and of even more concern, without a shirt, and ram into my car while parked.

[Benches505]

Did the British marines get released yet?

I won't knock the Brits, they are the only real ally we have left.

[RamyGras]

I'm starting to think Iran really wants to go to war. Without knowing anything of what happened, you guys broke the news to me, I'm going to imagine the Brits were NOT in Iranian waters. And if this holds true, then I would consider Iran's move an act of war. With all the hostility going on between Iran and the Allied powers, this may be the begining of Iran's demise.

[Snrf]

Dude. All you have to do is go to Disney World. There are more Brits there than you would believe. They can't represent the poor population, and I can tell you that 85% of them have a mouth full of crooked, yellow chiclets.

And the Americans you are referring to aren't from the deep south. They're from West Virginia and Kentucky.

Why can't they represent the poor population? Our poor people travel alot more than poor yanks. besides, you're all fat

[RamyGras]

After reading the bbc.com article on the situation, it tells of how Iranians were parading the Brits in blindfolds and demanding they apologize on Iranian TV. This, unfortunately, is what separates much of the Middle-east from the rest of the world. It's very amateur, and it's their way of trying to show the world "oh, look, we are somebody not to be messed with". Their president is a hypocrite, and is going against everything he tried to persuade to the American public with his open letter to President Bush last year.

[alphaman]

Why can't they represent the poor population? Our poor people travel alot more than poor yanks. besides, you're all fat

Don't take it the wrong way bro. I remember sitting on the "Kali River" raft ride at Animal Kingdom with my wife and a group of six Brits. They were all nicely dressed. Nice hair, obviously intelligent. Nice jewelry, but not tacky. And they all had BAD teeth. And after that I started to notice it again and again during the week. I just came to the conclusion that taking care of your teeth must not be as important in British culture.

Sorry if I offended anyone..........



BTW - You think it was a coinicidence that Austin Powers looks like that?

[Benches505]

The yokels in the south are also direct descendants of...... The british and scottish

Any word on the Marines?

[eliteforce]

Although Iranian ships are just normal diesel subs and gun boats, in naval warfare-it's the missiles stupid

http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20...a5lkau0wj714_1

this russian anti-ship missile has also been called the "sunburn" missile, the article is erroneous in suggesting "Iran may have.." it has been pretty much confirmed that Iran has stocks of this weapon.. and it can be fired from aircraft or ship or one of those Kilo-class subs. This is a major reason why, for example, when Bush recently deployed 2 carrier groups to the Persian Gulf region, the carriers stay well outside the gulf, allowing only smaller gun ships like frigates and supply ships to enter..this way Iran could not potentially sneak up with one of these things and fire on a carrier (in the event of unexpected hostilities). but the smaller frigates that enter are vulnerable to the weapon inside the gulf.

[Flagg]

Man ive never needed braces and im pretty lucky cause my teeth are very straight. They are also not yellow but damn, not everyone has teeth as white as Simon Cowels (P.S. he's english)

Anyways, how are those Marines? There'll be smiling for joy once they're released..will that be a good thing?

[Flagg]

Ha, says the guy from the Moon. You mooneys suck!

Yeah i clean my teeth with moon dust

[Flagg]

According to Iranian reports those 15 Marines have admitted to being in Iran waters.

[Snrf]

yeah iran also invented a cure for aids last month....they're real trustworthy

[Bigen12]

lol and 95% of them are overweight obese fvckers....................

Be very careful here Bro,

You wouldn't want one of those so called "yokels that live in the deep south"
to have to drive his beaten up pick-up truck, with Rebel flag flying over there and bitch slap you so hard that your rotten teeth fall right out of your head....

[Bigen12]

http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Dis...7032534322.xml

Britons detained in Iraqi waters, says fisherman
Web posted at: 3/25/2007 3:43:22
Source ::: REUTERS
basra, Iraq • An Iraqi fisherman who said he saw Iranian forces detain British sailors and marines on Friday in a waterway between Iraq and Iran said yesterday the ship British forces were searching was anchored in Iraqi waters.

Iran has condemned what it called the illegal entry of 15 British naval personnel into Iranian waters as a “suspicious act”, the official Irna news agency said yesterday.

Britain says they were detained in Iraqi waters on a routine search operation and has demanded their immediate return.

The fisherman, the same one who said he witnessed the sailors being detained several hours before it was confirmed by the British government, said the line between Iranian and Iraqi waters was not marked by buoys but was well known.

“We’ve been working in this job for many years and because of our experience we can distinguish which is the Iraqi and which is Iranian side,” he said, adding that Iraqi boats never venture across because of tight security by Iranian coastguards.

He said the ship the British forces were searching was among several that had been anchored for a week or more, waiting to unload or take on cargo at an Iraqi port. “The ship was in Iraqi waters,” said the fisherman, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of security concerns.

Brigadier Hakim Jassam of the Iraqi coastguard said the incident happened at the entrance of the Shatt al-Arab waterway, where the open waters of the Gulf narrow into a channel that marks the southern border between the two countries. “We don’t know whether it happened in Iraqi or Iranian waters, we don’t have exact information,” Jassam said.

[Snrf]

Be very careful here Bro,

You wouldn't want one of those so called "yokels that live in the deep south"
to have to drive his beaten up pick-up truck, with Rebel flag flying over there and bitch slap you so hard that your rotten teeth fall right out of your head....

lol, typical....you know theres an ocean in the way right? good luck drivin over here

[Flagg]

Be very careful here Bro,

You wouldn't want one of those so called "yokels that live in the deep south"
to have to drive his beaten up pick-up truck, with Rebel flag flying over there and bitch slap you so hard that your rotten teeth fall right out of your head....

I dont think yokels even have teeth. Still, he'd have some then!

[Flagg]

Back to the topic.

Been hearing more about this on the radio, Tony Blair made his voice heard on the subject and insists that those Royal Marines were never in Iran waters and were patrolling Iraqi waters.

Iran is saying now that not only were the Marines in Iran waters but they acted very aggresively once they were apprehended. Also Iran will not disclose where the soldiers are or what is to be done with them.

I didn't know how stupid Iran could be.

[Benches505]

Time for England to flex it's muscles with a couple of extra carriers in the gulf?

[Booz]

Be very careful here Bro,

You wouldn't want one of those so called "yokels that live in the deep south"
to have to drive his beaten up pick-up truck, with Rebel flag flying over there and bitch slap you so hard that your rotten teeth fall right out of your head....

come get me big boy.......
your gonna go hungry tho our mcdonalds dont do supersize portions.........