Iran considers trying the 15 captured British sailors

Reuters:

BERLIN (Reuters) - Iran said on Sunday it was considering charging 15 British sailors and marines with illegally entering its waters, but added it may give consular access to them after an investigation.

Prime Minister Tony Blair denied the navy personnel had been in Iranian waters and said Tehran should be under no illusion how seriously Britain considers the detentions.

The incident raised tensions that were already high with the West over Tehran's nuclear programme. The U.N. Security Council imposed new sanctions on Iran on Saturday. London and Washington have also accused Tehran of fomenting violence in Iraq.

"This is a very serious situation and there is no doubt at all that these people were taken from a boat in Iraqi waters," Blair told reporters at a European Union summit in Berlin.

And then, during this highly touchy situation which demands finesse and diplomacy, a Lt. Commander of ours speaks up: (my bold)

A senior American commander in the Gulf has said his men would have fired on the Iranian Republican Guard rather than let themselves be taken hostage.

In a dramatic illustration of the different postures adopted by British and US forces working together in Iraq, Lt-Cdr Erik Horner - who has been working alongside the task force to which the 15 captured Britons belonged - said he was "surprised" the British marines and sailors had not been more aggressive.

Asked by The Independent whether the men under his command would have fired on the Iranians, he said: "Agreed. Yes. I don't want to second-guess the British after the fact but our rules of engagement allow a little more latitude. Our boarding team's training is a little bit more towards self-preservation."

The executive officer - second-in-command on USS Underwood, the frigate working in the British-controlled task force with HMS Cornwall - said: "The unique US Navy rules of engagement say we not only have a right to self-defence but also an obligation to self-defence. They [the British] had every right in my mind and every justification to defend themselves rather than allow themselves to be taken. Our reaction was, 'Why didn't your guys defend themselves?'"

His comments came as it was reported British intelligence had been warned by the CIA that Iran would seek revenge for the detention of five suspected Iranian intelligence officers in Iraq two months ago but refused to raise threat levels in line with their US counterparts. The capture of the eight sailors and seven marines - including one young mother - will undoubtedly renew accusations that Britain's determination to maintain a friendly face in the region has left its troops frequently under protected.

Yes, we would have started a new war just to show how tough we were... even though the detention of five of their diplomats was something we did deliberately. If this had been U.S. soldiers, Georgie would have declared war in two minutes....