Iran standoff at critical stage

Iran standoff at critical stage

Britain yesterday said the next 48 hours would be critical in the diplomatic crisis with Iran over Tehran's seizure of 15 British sailors and Marines in the Gulf, but played down expectations of a rapid solution.

Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett stressed the importance of diplomacy rather than military intervention.

"I would urge you to be cautious in assuming that we are likely to see a very swift resolution to this issue," she said. "We are not seeking confrontation. We are seeking to pursue this through diplomatic channels."

The crisis between the two countries began when Iranian Revolutionary Guards seized the sailors on March 23 in the northern Gulf, where the British navy has been searching shipping in an effort to prevent smuggling.

"This is a very critical time and the most important thing is that we get our people back safe and sound..." British Prime Minister Tony Blair said.

"The next 48 hours will be fairly critical," he told a radio station in Scotland.

New hopes for the sailors' release was raised after the sudden release of an Iranian diplomat missing for two months in Iraq.

It also suggested the standoff over the captive Britons may end with a de facto prisoner swap - something both Tehran and London have publicly discounted.

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.

Meanwhile, the Roman Catholic bishop of Britain's armed forces issued a plea yesterday from "one religious leader to another" calling on Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to help free the sailors.

"Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, in the name of his nation and in the name of Islam, has the unique opportunity to gain the world's respect for its Islamic laws and values," Bishop Tom Burns said in a statement.

"As one religious leader to another, I therefore ask him to show generosity by allowing one navy to return the sailors and Marines of another to their mother ship."

The mother of one of the British captives voiced her shock yesterday at seeing her son on television after he was shown apparently confessing to trespassing in Iranian waters. But Alison Carman, mother of Lieutenant Felix Carman, 26, said she and her husband Paul "were glad to see he looked fit and well".

Similar sentiments were expressed by the family of another captive, Leading Seaman Chris Coe.

Relatives of Operator Maintainer Simon Massey called for privacy at a "very distressing time".

John and Julie Tindell, parents of captured Royal Marine Joe Tindell, said they were "immensely proud" of him and his colleagues.

"Joe has served with the Royal Marines for the past four years," they told Five television.

"He is, at present, part of a small, committed team within Fleet Protection Group, who are close friends and have already served one tour of duty together on mainland Iraq.

PHOTO CAPTION

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad waves to his supporters after Friday prayers at a university in central Tehran March 30, 2007. (Reuters)

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