Britain Takes Case Against Iran To U.N.
UNITED NATIONS - Britain took its case to free its 15 sailors and marines held by Iran to the United Nations on Thursday, asking the Security Council to support a statement that would "deplore" Tehran's action and demand their immediate release.
But Security Council diplomats said the brief press statement circulated by Britain's U.N. Mission is likely to face problems from Russia and others because it says the Britons were "operating in Iraqi waters" — a point that Iran contests.
Iranian state television on Thursday also broadcast a few seconds of footage it says was of the operation that seized the 15 British soldiers in Iranian territorial waters.
In the clip, about five seconds long, gunshots were heard and a helicopter is shown hovering above inflatable boats in choppy seas. Then, the British seamen and marines appear seated in an Iranian guard boat, presumably after their capture.
The British move came as Iran rolled back on its promise to release the sole female British sailor among the captives, who were seized last week. The Iranian military chief, Gen. Ali Reza Afshar, said that because of the "wrong behavior" of the British government, "the release of a female British soldier has been suspended," the semiofficial Iranian news agency Mehr reported.
Have the British declared defeat? I fail to see how this will help the release of those 15 Sailors/Marines. Isn't it evident by now that Iran couldn't care less about what the U.N. thinks?
