Blair Uses Sailors Case to Boost Popularity Rate - Iran MP

Mar 31, 12:38 PM

Current Headlines: Text of report in English by Iranian news agency IRNA website

Tehran, 31 March: An Iranian lawmaker said Saturday [31 March] that British Premier Tony Blair is taking advantage of the case of 15 detained sailors as to step up anti-Iran propaganda and raise his popularity rate.

"Blair and his ally (the US President George W.) Bush have low popularity rate at home and want to use the issue (the sailors' case) as a means to improve their poor image," said Majlis deputy from Tehran Sa'id Abutaleb in an interview with IRNA.

Abutaleb said arrest of the British marines, who violated Iran's territorial waters, is fully legal and justified.

He said London will gain nothing from such a hue and cry.

"Britons will gain nothing from the controversy and on the contrary, it will increase their costs. They could have solved the problem by making an apology and undertaking not to repeat such acts in future," said the Tehran MP.

He said Britain's violation of Iranian territorial waters has a precedent. "British troops trespassed into our territorial waters in defiance of an earlier notification by the Islamic Republic's coast guards."

Recalling arrest of eight British troopers in Iranian territorial waters last year, Abutaleb said, "Britons admitted to their mistake the previous time and promised not to repeat similar act. That resulted in settlement of the problem and release of the Britons." "This time too," he added, "the Britons were arrested in Iranian territorial waters. So any action against them is completely legal." The lawmaker said Iranian authorities' approach towards the issue has been fully logical.

"Unfortunately, instead of apologizing and accepting their mistake, the Britons are still living and thinking in the past.

They mistakenly think that they can solve the problem through force or intimidation. Iranian officials' approach towards the issue has been fully logical," he insisted.

He criticized Americans and Britons for their stance on Iran's "fully legal" arrest of violators of its territorial waters.

"It is ridiculous that Americans and Britons, who have repeatedly arrested our diplomats and even reporters in Iraqi cities on false charges are not ready to accept that Iran's arrest of violators of its territorial waters is completely legal," said Abutaleb.

Elsewhere in the interview, Abutaleb said Britons are taking advantage of the issue in their own favour.

"Britons use the case just the same way as they deal with Iran's nuclear issue. The two issues are totally different and they can not use the (sailors') case as a means to exert pressure on Iran," he added.

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