Breakthrough In Britain-Iran Standoff?

CBS' David Martin: Countries Have Exchanged Documents Outlining Terms Of A Deal

(CBS/AP)  Britain called for direct talks with Iran over 15 captive Britons after speaking for the first time with the chief Iranian negotiator. Tuesday's announcement followed the sudden release of an Iranian diplomat in Iraq that raised new hope in resolving the standoff.

Great Britain and Iran have exchanged diplomatic documents outlining the terms of the deal, reports CBS News national security correspondent David Martin. In return for the release of the sailors and marines, the British government would say it regrets the incident and will make sure it doesn’t happen again, but would not admit its personnel violated Iranian waters.

In a statement late Tuesday, Prime Minister Blair's Downing Street office said "both sides share a desire for an early resolution to this issue through direct talks."

"The prime minister remains committed to resolving this by diplomatic means. The U.K. has proposed direct bilateral discussions and awaits an Iranian response on when these can begin," Blair's office said.

But Britain's foreign minister cautioned against assuming the standoff will end quickly, and U.S. officials warn that hardliners in the Iranian government could still undo the deal, adds Martin.

Earlier, Iranian diplomat Jalal Sharafi arrived in Tehran, hours after he was freed by his captors in Iraq, officials said. He was seized Feb. 4 by uniformed gunmen in Karradah, a Shiite-controlled district of Baghdad.

Iran alleged the diplomat had been abducted by an Iraqi military unit commanded by U.S. forces, a charge repeated by several Iraqi Shiite lawmakers. U.S. authorities denied any role in his disappearance.

In Baghdad, an Iraqi Foreign Ministry official said the Iraqi government had exerted pressure on those holding Sharafi to release him, but he would not identify who had held Sharafi.

But another senior government official said Iraqi intelligence had been holding him. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not supposed to release the information.

Sharafi was a second secretary at the Iranian Embassy who was involved in plans to open a branch of the Iranian national bank. U.S. officials allege that Iran provides money and weapons to Iraqi Shiite militias.

Sharafi was abducted a month after the U.S. military arrested five other Iranians in northern Iraq. The U.S. described one of those captives as a senior officer of the Quds Force, an elite unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry official said his government also was working "intensively" for the release of the five other Iranians to "help in the release of the British sailors and marines."

Iranian state media reported Wednesday that an Iranian envoy will be allowed to meet the five Iranians.

There was no immediate confirmation of the report in Baghdad, where neither Iraqi government nor a U.S. military spokesman said they knew that permission had been granted for such a meeting.

“A representative from the Iranian Embassy in Baghdad will meet” the detained Iranians, the official Islamic Republic News Agency said.

Neither Iran nor Iraq nor Britain has said explicitly that a prisoner swap was in the works. Iran has denied it seized the Britons to force the release of Iranians held in Iraq, and Britain has steadfastly insisted it would not negotiate for the sailors' freedom.

In Washington, President Bush signaled the same. "I also strongly support the prime minister's declaration that there should be no quid pro quos when it comes to the hostages," Bush said.

It was unclear whether the Iraqis had won Sharafi's freedom on their own initiative to encourage a settlement, which would ease tension without endangering their own claim to the waters where it occurred.

Nevertheless, the release of Sharafi and efforts to free the five other Iranians suggested that the parameters of a deal might be taking shape.

Iran maintains the British sailors had encroached on Iranian territory when they were seized by naval units of the Revolutionary Guards on March 23. Britain insists its sailors and marines were in Iraqi waters and has demanded their unconditional release.
Blair said earlier in the day that the next 48 hours would be "fairly critical" to resolving the standoff over the British personnel, who have been held by Iran since March 23.

[grazinggoat]

It's not only a possibility, but the reality. They are free by now...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6525905.stm

[jumkey]

It's rather telling that the Brits have not responded with evidence of where their warship actually was when seized. The video shows an Iranian military officer with a large map detailing the place where the ship allegedly was. I wonder if anyone from CBS "News" might actually examine the evidence and report on it's substance instead of simply repeating the talking points. Hello? Anyone home at CBS? A journalist perhaps? Yeah, I didn't think so.

That's not to say Iran's behavior in this has been acceptable, what with parading "hostages", and threatening show trials and the like. But I don't think they have tortured or killed any of the British soldiers so I guess the Iranian Governments treatment of it's prisoners is far more humane and legal than that shown to captives held by the US. So I guess we really don't have the moral high ground to comment on Iran's behavior when ours is so much worse.

[drinuk]

CENSORSHIP

[drinuk]

Blairs legacy is certainly now coming to fruition, all this nonsense is the result of his lying, cheating and two cent crappy lawyer attitude. Not only to us Brits who he has raped and ruined but to all those who have had the mis-fortune of being under his Big Brother rule. He has cost this Nation our pride and undermined our heritage, the man is Con Artist.
As of May, he will retire and begin his $100,000 a day lecture tour of America and folks, you're welcome to him, I hope you bounce his cheques.

[drinuk]

Blairs legacy is certainly coming to fruition, this pathetic forked tongued 2 cent lawyer is getting his just desserts after ten years of lying, cheating and raping the British people. He has allowed this nation to look stupid by his pandering to a bunch of Third World evil fruitcakes, we were unprepared and naked to their obvious aggression.

He has lost us the respect we had accrued under Thatcher, turned the country into a Big Brother society and robbed us of our heritage.

Both he and his government epitomise the phrase "C o c k Up" Everything they have done is a total failure, notwithstanding the war in Iraq.
Very soon he will be on the $100.000 per night lecture tour of America, Well! folks, you are more than welcome to him. I for one hope the cheques bounce.

[drinuk]

Blairs legacy is certainly coming to fruition, this pathetic forked tongued 2 cent lawyer is getting his just desserts after ten years of lying, cheating and raping the British people. He has allowed this nation to look stupid by his pandering to a bunch of Third World evil fruitcakes, we were unprepared and naked to their obvious aggression.

He has lost us the respect we had accrued under Thatcher, turned the country into a Big Brother society and robbed us of our heritage.

Both he and his government epitomise the phrase "C o c k Up" Everything they have done is a total failure, notwithstanding the war in Iraq.
Very soon he will be on the $100.000 per night lecture tour of America, Well! folks, you are more than welcome to him. I for one hope the cheques bounce.

[drinuk]

Blairs legacy is certainly coming to fruition, this pathetic forked tongued 2 cent lawyer is getting his just desserts after ten years of lying, cheating and raping the British people. He has allowed this nation to look stupid by his pandering to a bunch of Third World evil fruitcakes, we were unprepared and naked to their obvious aggression.

He has lost us the respect we had accrued under Thatcher, turned the country into a Big Brother society and robbed us of our heritage.

Both he and his government epitomise the phrase "C o c k Up" Everything they have done is a total failure, notwithstanding the war in Iraq.
Very soon he will be on the $100.000 per night lecture tour of America, Well! folks, you are more than welcome to him. I for one hope the cheques bounce.

[drinuk]

Blairs legacy is certainly coming to fruition, this pathetic forked tongued 2 cent lawyer is getting his just desserts after ten years of lying, cheating and raping the British people. He has allowed this nation to look stupid by his pandering to a bunch of Third World evil fruitcakes, we were unprepared and naked to their obvious aggression.

He has lost us the respect we had accrued under Thatcher, turned the country into a Big Brother society and robbed us of our heritage.

Both he and his government epitomise the phrase "C o c k Up" Everything they have done is a total failure, notwithstanding the war in Iraq.
Very soon he will be on the $100.000 per night lecture tour of America, Well! folks, you are welcome to him.

[drinuk]

Blairs legacy is certainly coming to fruition, this pathetic forked tongued 2 cent lawyer is getting his just desserts after ten years of lying, cheating and raping the British people. He has allowed this nation to look stupid by his pandering to a bunch of Third World evil fruitcakes, we were unprepared and naked to their obvious aggression.

He has lost us the respect we had accrued under Thatcher, turned the country into a Big Brother society and robbed us of our heritage.

Both he and his government epitomise the phrase "C o c k Up" Everything they have done is a total failure, notwithstanding the war in Iraq.

[randalds]

I hope the Brits and the Iranians get this settled quickly, before the as*shole Bush figures out a way to build it into a reason to attack Iran and tries to drag us into another one of HIS wars.