Iran Held Some British Troops In Solitary

Revelation Comes As Britain Welcomes 15 Sailors And Marines Back Home

(CBS/AP)  Members of the British naval crew seized by Iran were detained in solitary confinement, Britain's defense ministry confirmed Thursday.

Lt. Col. Andy Price said some of the naval personnel had been "left alone" at points during their captivity, but said he would not elaborate until officials had held further talks with the sailors.

It followed a claim from the family of one of the crew that a sailor had been kept in solitary detention while the 15 sailors and marines were held.

Britain's defense ministry said the sailors were being debriefed about their 13 days in captivity, including questions about their treatment. A ministry spokeswoman said the debriefing sessions would continue Friday.

"There were times when they were left alone, but we will not go into any further detail until tomorrow," Price said. He said the personnel were spending time with their families and were "in good spirits," eating and drinking at a military base cafeteria.

The 15 Royal Navy sailors and marines returned home early Thursday to a nation relieved at their freedom but outraged that they were used for propaganda by Tehran.

Prime Minister Tony Blair called for continued international pressure on Iran, blaming elements of the Iranian government for backing militants in Iraq, where four British soldiers and a translator were slain in an ambush hours before the freed crew touched down.

"On the one hand we are glad that our service personnel return safe and unharmed from their captivity, but on the other we return to the sober and ugly reality of what is happening through terrorism in Iraq," Blair said outside his Downing Street office.

The liberated crew broke open champagne and changed into fresh uniforms on the flight home. After landing at Heathrow Airport, they smiled and stood at attention before being whisked by two Sea King helicopters to the Royal Marines base at Chivenor, southwest of London.

They joyfully embraced their tearful families at the base.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup met with the crew briefly and described them as being "happy and in good shape." He dismissed questions that the sailors and marines had behaved improperly because they took part in videos on Iranian state television in which they "admitted" trespassing into Tehran's territorial waters.

"They did exactly as they should have done from start to finish, and we are proud of them," he said.

The tabloid Sun newspaper wrote that "nobody emerges from this crisis with credit."

"The sight of the illegally detained British forces thanking Iranian tyrants for their freedom will sicken the nation," the Sun said in an editorial.

While Britain always said that the crew was on a routine mission, Sky News reported that Royal Marine Capt. Chris Air had said in an interview three weeks ago that the crew was gathering intelligence on Iran during their patrols. Defense Ministry officials denied the sailors and marines had an intelligence role, but said they routinely spoke to commanders of vessels using the Persian Gulf and Shatt Al-Arab waterway to determine who is using shipping routes.

Wednesday's announcement by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that the Britons had been released was a breakthrough in a crisis that had raised oil prices and escalated fears of military conflict in the volatile region. The move to release the sailors suggested that Iran's hard-line leadership decided it had shown its strength but did not want to push the standoff too far.

Richard Haass, president of the Council On Foreign Relations, said it is too soon to know the political and diplomatic motivations behind Iran's release of the sailors.

"They might have thought this was something good for them to do, to push back to the world, send a message how tough they were. They got a lot of criticism. So what they may have done is diplomatically simply change tactics," he told CBS' The Early Show.

Despite the peaceful resolution to the two-week standoff, Haass said Iran, and Ahmadinejad, comes out of the ordeal a loser because the message sent is "Iran doesn't play by the rules." (video)

Haass added, "Is this the sort of government, the sort of president, we want to have with nuclear weapons? Obviously not if they're prepared to do this kind of thing."

[thelistener-2009]

The question is how the British government would behave with somebody entering their territories?
Did they expect Iranian to behave them like guests,by the way I do not believe what the said today which was read form a prepared pieces of paper.

[feelfree1]

radiob,

Re: "Feelfree1 Here is the link to the story about the US backing Iranian terrorist in Pakistan which you posted on yesterday."

www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article1466948.ece

Thank you.

[klingon69]

tuckerndfw;
Jesus does love ignorant liars. Since the sin we commit was in ignorance(unknowing) Jesus and God can look above that. However, if we sin in full knowledge, that angers God.
'Nuff said, I will not sit asnd debate with you here.

[klingon69]

Ok, seven pissants;
I see you slimed your troll a$$ back onto the boards. You want to work over a "dixie-creep", here I am.
I live in Texarkana, Tx. Just ask for Big Mike!!!
I haven't got to beat the *** outta some Yankee liberal in a few weeks.

[tuckerndfw]

Tuckerndfw - Only in the left-wing crazy world do people like you say the Iranian regime is better than the US or British governments . . . forced Vietnamese-style "confessions" out of them.

Posted by fredgrad2000 at 09:47 AM : Apr 06, 2007

George Bush and Tony Blair are not the "government."

Ahmadinejab may be as bad as they, but he cannot possibly be any worse.

The Bush administration routinely tortures people until they confess so your comment about forced confessions is ludicrous on the face of it.

The "Iraqi government" is "George Bush's government." The Iraqi people clearly do not support George Bush's government.

But, then again, the American people do not support George Bush's governments (in the US or Iraq), so why would we expect the Iraqis to do so?

And, nothing you stated alters the fact that under the "Bush doctrine," Iran and any other nation is entitled to murder, torture, kidnap or do whatever they want to anyone they choose with impunity.

Ahmadinejab has as much legal authority to declare others to be "terrorists", "terrorist supporters" or "enemy combatants" as George Bush or Tony Blair. And, to inflict whatever punishment he so chooses after doing so.

That is what George Bush and Tony Blair claim (with which I strongly disagree) but it is not logically possible to support Bush or Blair and oppose the "Bush doctrine."

George Bush is the worst president in US history and Ahmadinejab played him (and Blair) for the fool he is.

[klingon69]

clestes;
Yes you can make a nuclear bomb in a basement, some college kids did it in the late 60s early 70s, from information gotten from books at a public library.

[fredgrad2000]

Tuckerndfw - Only in the left-wing crazy world do people like you say the Iranian regime is better than the US or British governments...Iran seized British marines who were operating in Iraqi waters at the request of the Iraqi government and the UN, and then forced Vietnamese-style "confessions" out of them.

Anyone in the "know" knows that the IRGC and Ahmadinejad hard-liners are in an internal battle with "moderates" (I use the term loosely), and are losing (see the recent "elections") due to the effect the recent sanctions are having (inflation is getting bad due to economic downturn there)...this whole scenario was done to scare up oil prices to help boost government revenues and help shore up the radical base; take pressure off the IRGC/Ahmadinejad crowd from the nuclear issue, and to try to affect British public opinion since we know the real Iranian long-term strategic goal is hegemony in the Middle East, which requires us and Britain out for good...

[radiob-2009]

Feelfree1 Here is the link to the story about the US backing Iranian terrorist in Pakistan which you posted on yesterday.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article1466948.ece

[cjhr43]

RandalDS
If you choose to be an aethiest then its your choice. No one is twisting your arm. I do feel sorry for you though and will pray that you wake up before you die ... but stay that way... I dont care...

[sam101200]

Ya, drink champaign and be happy happy. They also look healthy healthy and don't look the least bit abused. It had better come out that they were physically or mentally tortured (sleep depravation, food depravation, etc.), otherwise the ones who made the video tapes and wrote letters need to be court marshalled and jailed. Don't join the military if you can't take it, it is an act of treason to make promotional video tapes for your enemy.