WORLD / Middle East
Iranian TV airs new video of Britons
(AP)
Updated: 2007-04-02 06:18
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's official Arabic language television channel aired
new video Sunday showing two of the 15 captured British sailors pointing
to a spot on a map of the Persian Gulf where they were seized and
acknowledging it was in Iranian territorial waters.
Britain's Foreign Office immediately denounced the video, saying it was
"completely unacceptable for these pictures to be shown on TV."
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The captives first appeared on the state-run Arabic-language TV channel
Al-Alam in separate video clips wearing military fatigues and pointing at
the same map. They were talking to a camera but the channel did not air
their voices. Two state-run Farsi-language TV stations later carried
their voices along with the video.
The first sailor, who was identified as Royal Marine Capt. Chris Eir,
said the crew were "apparently" seized "inside Iranian territorial
waters." He gestured at a spot on the map beside the handwritten words
"the point where intruding boats were captured."
"We've been treated very well and we thank you for that," he said.
The second sailor, who identified himself as Felix Carmen (spelling
uncertain), pointed to an area on the map and said it was where he and
the others were arrested.
"I'd like to say to the Iranian people, I can understand why you are so
angry about our intrusion into your waters," he said.
The newscaster said the two had confessed to "illegally" trespassing in
Iranian waters.
Image from Iran's official Arabic-language television channel aired
Sunday April 1 2007 of short video clips of what it said were two of 15
captured British sailors who in the footage pointed to a map of the
Persian Gulf. [AP]
A video grab taken from the Iranian Arabic-speaking television station
Al-Alam shows a British sailor speaking in front of a chart of the Gulf
waters. [AFP]
Iran insists the sailors illegally entered its waters, but Britain says
the team was in Iraqi waters at the time of their capture.
Eight British sailors and seven marines were detained by Iranian naval
units on March 23 while patrolling for smugglers as part of a
U.N.-mandated force monitoring the Persian Gulf. They were seized by
Iranian naval units near the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab, a waterway that
has long been a disputed dividing line between Iraq and Iran.
Al-Alam gave more details about the incident, saying the 15 left their
ship in a small boat on the morning of March 23 and entered the Iranian
waters at 10 a.m. local time.
Al-Alam broadcast longer videos of the Britons earlier this week,
including footage on Friday of captured marine Nathan Thomas Summers
apologizing for entering Iranian waters "without permission" and
admitting to trespassing in Iranian waters.
He was shown sitting with another serviceman and the female British
sailor Faye Turney against a floral curtain. Both servicemen wore
camouflage fatigues with a Royal Navy label on their chests and a little
British flag stitched to their left sleeves.
Al-Alam also aired video on Wednesday showing Turney wearing a headscarf
and saying: "Obviously we trespassed."
Iran has also made public three letters purportedly written by Turney.
The last letter contained an apology.
Britain has denounced the videos, calling them "propaganda" and
"outrageous."
Iran's decision to air three videos on its Arabic-language TV channel,
rather than on its main Farsi channels has not been explained. But it
appears to be an attempt to seek support from Arabs in Iraq and the Gulf
states, where many resent Britain's military deployment in Iraq and its
historical role as a colonial power in the region.
Earlier on Sunday, British Defense Secretary Des Browne said his
government was in "direct, bilateral communication with the Iranians." A
Ministry of Defense spokeswoman said Browne was referring to letters and
other contacts between diplomats, rather than any new face-to-face talks.
Browne, on a visit to Afghanistan, said Britain had "the support of
almost the whole international community" in calling for the release of
its personnel.
President Bush on Saturday demanded the release of the 15 "hostages." He
said they were innocent and called their capture "inexcusable behavior."
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called world powers "arrogant" for
refusing to apologize.
British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett appeared to soften rhetoric
against Iran Saturday �� though she stopped far short of an apology.
"I think everyone regrets that this position has arisen," Beckett said
during a visit to Germany. "What we want is a way out of it."
In Iran, hardliners called for their government to remain firm. In
Tehran, about 200 Iranian youths threw rocks and firecrackers at the
British Embassy in a protest on Sunday, calling for the expulsion of the
country's ambassador because of the standoff.
Several dozen policemen prevented the protesters from entering the
embassy compound, although a few briefly scaled a fence outside the
compound's walls before being pushed back, according to an Associated
Press reporter at the scene.
The protesters chanted "Death to Britain" and "Death to America" as they
hurled stones into the courtyard of the embassy. They also demanded that
the Iranian government expel the British ambassador and close down the
embassy, calling it a "den of spies."
Britain's Foreign Office said there had been no damage to the compound.
A British Foreign Office spokeswoman in London, speaking on condition of
anonymity in line with government rules, said diplomats were working
normally inside the embassy and were not at risk.
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