WORLD / Middle East
Iran appears ready for long standoff
(AP)
Updated: 2007-04-02 15:35
TEHRAN, Iran - The standoff over 15 captured British sailors shows no
signs of abating, and analysts say that Iran's tough stance is a
demonstration of the power of hardliners unafraid to confront the West.
An Iranian man chants slogan as police officers prevent protestors from
entering the British Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, April 1, 2007,
during a protest calling for the expulsion of the British ambassador
because of the standoff over Iran's capture of 15 British sailors and
marines. [AP]
Events on Sunday only further polarized the situation: Two of the sailors
appeared on state TV, acknowledging they trespassed into Iranian waters,
and about 200 angry Iranian youths threw rocks and firecrackers at the
British Embassy and unsuccessfully tried to rush its grounds.
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Iranian students from several universities shouted "Death to Britain!"
and "Death to America!" and demanded the government shut down the "den of
spies" - echoes of slogans from a crisis of a generation ago, when
American captives were held hostage by Tehran for 444 days.
Demonstrations in Iran must receive approval from the Interior Ministry.
The 15 Britons were detained by Iranian naval units on March 23 while
patrolling for smugglers as part of a UN-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. Iran insists the sailors illegally entered its
waters, but Britain says the team was in Iraqi waters at the time of
their capture.
Iran has brushed aside diplomatic overtures from the European Union,
Japan and Turkey in recent days. And hardline President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad has taken a higher-profile role, declaring in his most
extensive comments on the crisis that Britain and its allies were
"arrogant and selfish" for not apologizing over what he called the
Britons' incursion into Iranian waters.
Before the new video was released, Britain appeared to be holding out
hope for a diplomatic resolution, saying it was in direct contact with
Iran and examining options for new dialogue.
Britain's Foreign Office denounced the video, saying it was "completely
unacceptable for these pictures to be shown on TV."
Many observers were already pessimistic.
"This is going to be a prolonged problem," said Dr. Abdulkhaleq Abdulla,
a political scientist at the United Arab Emirates University in Dubai.
"There are parties in Iran who would like to turn this into another test
of strong will, and to show that Iran is capable of making the West meet
its demands."
It had appeared earlier in the week that the Iranians were looking for a
way to end the standoff quickly. Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said
Wednesday that the only woman captive, Faye Turney, would be released
soon.
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