Britain seeks U.N. condemnation of Iran Faye Turney, 26, right, the only woman amongst the British navy personnel seized by Iran, an unidentified sailor, centre, and an unidentified marine, eat a meal, in this image made from television, in footage broadcast by Al-Alam, an Arabic-language, Iranian state-run television station, in Tehran, Wednesday March 28, 2007. (AP Photo/APTN, courtesy of Al-Alam) By Salah Nasrawi, Associated Press Writer | March 29, 2007
TEHRAN, Iran --Iran may delay the release of the female British sailor if Britain takes the issue to the U.N. Security Council or freezes relations, the country's top negotiator Ali Larijani said Thursday. The Foreign Office in London, meanwhile, said Britain is seeking condemnation of Iran at the United Nations.
Sign up for: Globe Headlines e-mail | Breaking News Alerts The seizure of 15 British sailors and marines, including Faye Turney, the only woman among them, took place during operations in Iraqi waters under a U.N. Security Council mandate, said the Foreign Office official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the subject.
"There are some plans to say something on behalf of the United Nations (about the seized troops) but they have not been finalized," said the official.
Speaking on Iranian state radio, Larijani said: "British leaders have miscalculated this issue." If Britain follows through with its policies on the British sailors and marines detained by Iran last week, Larijani said "this case may face a legal path" -- a clear reference to Iran's prosecuting the sailors in court.
Britain asked the Security Council to support a call for the immediate release of the detainees, saying in a statement Wednesday they were operating in Iraqi waters under a mandate from the Security Council and at the request of Iraq, according to council diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity because the text was not released.
Earlier Thursday, Prime Minister Tony Blair's official spokesman said Britain wanted to resolve the crisis quickly and without having a "confrontation over this."
In a briefing to reporters, the spokesman said British officials had been angered by Tehran's decision to show captured the British sailors and marines on Iranian television.
"Nobody should be put in that position. It is an impossible position to be put in," he said. "It is wrong. It is wrong in terms of the usual conventions that cover this. It is wrong in terms of basic humanity."
"We are not seeking to put Iran in a corner," said the spokesman. "We are simply saying, 'Please release the personnel who should not have been seized in the first place.'"
On Wednesday, Britain announced it was freezing relations with Iran.
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