The Outrage Option: Iran Threatens to Try Brit Sailors as Spies
The mullahs have decided to at least threaten hardball. According to the London Times Iran will try the captured British sailors and marines on espionage charges.
The Times’ lede:
Fifteen British sailors and marines arrested by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards off the coast of Iraq may be charged with spying.
A website run by associates of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, reported last night that the Britons would be put before a court and indicted.
Referring to them as “insurgents”, the site concluded: “If it is proven that they deliberately entered Iranian territory, they will be charged with espionage. If that is proven, they can expect a very serious penalty since according to Iranian law, espionage is one of the most serious offences.”
The warning followed claims by Iranian officials that the British navy personnel had been taken to Tehran, the capital, to explain their “aggressive action” in entering Iranian waters. British officials insist the servicemen were in Iraqi waters when they were held.
The penalty for espionage in Iran is death. However, similar accusations of spying were made when eight British servicemen were detained in the same area in 2004. They were paraded blindfolded on television but did not appear in court and were freed after three nights in detention.
Read the article carefully. Note that a Saudi source says that it has an Iranian source which claims the British sailors and marines were taken with a purpose: as barter for Iraqi operatives captured in Iraq. As events progress, the hostage taking incident looks more and more like a desperate measure.
This incident gives Washington and Baghdad an opportunity to highlight Iranian troublemaking in Iraq. Unfortunately, the White House isn’t that media-wise. Perhaps the Iraqi government is.
