IRAN

Amanda Roraback's

World in a Nutshell


Articles Notes from Iran ("What did Ahmadinejad say" and other quotes from Iran) Is the US planning to go to war with Iran? Iraq Study Group and Iran ISOG (Iran Syria Operations Group) If Iran attacked the West Jews in Iran Oil production in decline Resolution 1737 Iran's Government Iran's Military Op-Ed Iran better served by peace in Iraq Documents Charter of Human Rts. Non-Proliferation Treaty Analysis of word "Aryan" Letter from Ahmadinejad to George Bush	Detention of 15 British Sailors This page was last updated on 09/06/2007	Iran in a Nutshell 80 pages $7.95
	On March 23rd, Iran's Revolutionary Guard detained 15 British sailors and marines accused of illegally sailing into Iranian waters. IN A NUTSHELL The royal navy was conducting routine cargo inspections in the Persian Gulf south of the Shatt al Arab waterway when they were captured by Iranian Revolutionary Guards. The Iranians say they were trespassing in Iranian waters. The British Royal Navy has released navigational data which it says proves that the sailors were within Iraqi territorial water. WHY DID THE IRANIANS DETAIN THE BRITISH Leverage The Iranians may be using the detention as a tool to bargain for concessions - perhaps to get the US to release five members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards - Qods Force (IRGC-QF) arrested in Iraq on January 11, 2007 for allegedly providing arms and support to Iraqi insurgents. Mistake? The seizure may have been a mistake that spun out of control. Humiliation The Iranians have long accused the British of meddling in Persian affairs. The detention of the servicemen may have been intended to humiliate the British. Alternative to targeting America With the United States and Iran on the brink of war, Iran may have captured the British soldiers in a proxy gesture against Britain's ally, the United States. CONFESSIONS Particularly objectionable to the West were the "confessions" by the captured servicemen and seemingly forced apologies for "trespassing into Iranian waters" that were broadcast on Iranian TV. CONSEQUENCES Britain has curtailed diplomatic and economic relations with Iran and has joined the U.S. other Western nations in adamantly demanding that Iran stop enriching uranium. A group of Iranian Basij (a conservative voluntary paramilitary force) and university students staged protests at the British Embassy in Tehran (America's embassy was closed after the hostage crisis of 1979). WHY IT MATTERS The United States recently stationed a second aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf and staged military exercises in the region. The seizure also came after the passage of UN Resolution 1747 which encourages the international community to curtail the activity of people and companies association with Iran's nuclear and ballistic program and restrict loans and financial assistance to the country.

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