Detained Sailors Were in Iraqi Waters

Mar 28, 11:18 AM

Current Headlines: The British navy said 15 sailors and marines being held in Iran were in Iraqi waters when they were detained last week.

At a London news conference, Vice Admiral Charles Style said the seven Royal Marines and eight sailors were 1.7 nautical miles inside Iraqi waters and not in Iranian territory last Friday, a New York Times correspondent reported.

Tehran has refused to disclose where the troops are or its intentions on their fates.

Style said Iran had produced two sets of coordinates of where the detention occurred, the first being in Iraqi waters and the second revised to place the scene in Iranian waters.

It is hard to understand a legitimate reason for this change of coordinates, he said.

Style said the British boarding party was in two inflatable boats and had boarded an Indian-flagged ship after observing it unloading cars, as authorized by Iran and the United Nations.

Tuesday, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said the dispute would enter a different phase if the sailors were not released and the United States deployed two aircraft carriers to the Persian Gulf.