You think the British should call up Jimmy Carter and ask for help with the hostages, he could guarantee results in oh, about 444 days.
An Iranian military official said Saturday afternoon that the 15 detained British sailors "confessed" to illegally entering Iranian waters.
The sailors, taken at gunpoint Friday by Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Al Quds soldiers were captured intentionally and are to be used as bargaining chips to be used for the release of five Iranians who were arrested at the Iranian consul in Irbil, Iraq by US troops, an Iranian official told the daily paper Asharq al-Awsat on Saturday.
In addition, a senior Iranian military official said Saturday that the decision to capture the soldiers was made during a March 18 emergency meeting of the High Council for Security following a report by the Al-Quds contingent commander, Kassem Suleimani, to the Iranian chief of the armed forces, Maj.Gen. Hassan Firouz Abadi. In the report, according to Asharq al-Awsat, Suleimani warned Abadi that Al Quds and Revolutionary Guards’ operations had become transparent to US and British intelligence following the arrest of a senior Al Quds officer and four of his deputies in Irbil.
According to the official, Iran was worried that its detained people would leak sensitive intelligence information.
[…]Meanwhile, officials from Western countries expressed concern Saturday that Iran would engage in similar acts in the future in order to discourage the United Nation’s Security Council from imposing further sanctions, reported Army Radio.
Makes sense. They kidnap some coalition troops to get back their 5 soldiers who were arrested by American forces last month as they helped the enemy. In addition they can use them to force capitulations from the west regarding their nuclear program. In their minds it’s a win/win situation and I would have to agree, if no one has the balls to take on Iran.
Since this was planned in advance did they intentionally target Brits since they believed if they targeted Americans there was a real chance of hostilities taking place?
Another question, why would any ship commander allow a hostile country to board and take his troops hostage?
Lot’s of questions, no real answers as of yet but it sure is getting interesting.
Meanwhile the UN has hit the end of the road on sanctions against Iran, but if it were not for Mr. Bolton it would have never gotten this far in the first place:
Resolution 1747 imposing further sanctions on Iran passes unanimously with 15 votes.
Some will sneer at the penalties imposed here — Iran is no longer allowed to export arms, but can still import all it needs. But in fact the rapid isolation of Iran since the IAEA referral to the Security Council less than a year ago is a testament to the brilliant work of John Bolton while at USUN. Once the matter landed on his desk, things moved fast at the UN, and they moved effectively. I don’t think many people a year ago would have thought it possible that Russia and China would agree to a Chapter VII resolution commanding Iran to halt enrichment, much less two resolutions imposing sanctions.
Whatever happens next, even detractors of the UN have to admit that this has been a diplomatic disaster for Iran. Meanwhile, this is almost certainly the end of the road for the Security Council strategy on Iran. The Permanent Members have gone as far as they are going to go together in imposing sanctions on Iran — although the U.S. representative just said that "additional measures" would be taken in 60 days.
Whatever happens in the Council next, the next chapter in this story will play out on the waters of the Persian Gulf.
Many more chapters to come it seems.
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“he could guarantee results in oh, about 444 days”
Yeah, after we exhume Ronald Reagan.
Jimmy Carter couldnt pull a Peanut out of his ass!!