February 11, 2009 5:05 PM
- Text
Iran Held Some British Troops In Solitary
(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 "Irandoesn'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."
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
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."
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