Middle East News
Royal Navy resumes boarding operations in northern Gulf
Apr 24, 2007, 11:27 GMT
London - Britain's Royal Navy is to resume boarding operations of merchant vessels in the northern Gulf, suspended after the capture of 15 naval personnel by Iran a month ago.
Defence Secretary Des Browne confirmed the move in a written statement to parliament in London Tuesday.
The 15 British sailors and Royal Marines were captured by Iranian coastguards while searching a cargo boat in the Gulf on March 23, and released by Iran 13 days later.
Britain disputed Iranian claims that the two British patrol boats, attached to HMS Cornwall, were in Iranian - and not Iraqi - territorial waters at the time of the capture.
The navy suspended operations after the incident, saying it would review the rules and regulations governing such controls.
The Iranian government asked Britain at the time to give 'guarantees' that any violations of Iranian waters would be avoided in the future.
Talks about this issue were expected to take place between British and Iranian officials, but no details have emerged.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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Older Talkback
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THE TRAVEL AGENT SAID THAT IRAN IS NICE THIS TIME OF YEAR.
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A DAY IN THE LIFEApr 24th, 2007 - 14:49:54
I heard the news today, oh boy. The English Army had just lost the war.
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