Or so it would seem from the Revolutionary Guard's seizure of five British yachtsmen in the Persian Gulf amid an escalating standoff over Iran's nuclear program.
The office of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday said the sailors could be prosecuted if the government determines they meant to "violate the national security" of Iran, the Fars News Agency reported, as translated by The Associated Press.
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Iranian Revolutionary Guards seized five British sailors as they were en route from Bahrain to the start of a race in Dubai on this yacht.
The team from the 60-foot Sail Bahrain yacht was picked up by an Iranian navy vessel last Wednesday while en route to start the Dubai-Muscat Offshore Race. Though the crew believed it was in United Arab Emirates waters, "due to a fault with the propeller, they may have inadvertently drifted into Iranian waters," Andrew Pindar, the team's chairman, said in a statement Tuesday.
The sailing team, the British government and Iran all kept quiet on the matter until Monday. From the limited contact allowed the crew, "they appear to be in good spirits and have confirmed that they are being well looked after," Pindar said. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband suggested early Tuesday that the situation had taken time to sort out because of a Muslim holiday that shut down much of the Iranian government through the weekend.
But then Esfandiar Rahim Mashai, the head of Ahmadinejad's office, sharpened the tone Tuesday.
"Naturally, if bad intentions on the part of these individuals are proven, there will be a serious and strong attitude toward them," Mashai said. "The decision will be up to the judiciary, which is independent of the administration."
An official from the British Foreign Office then told the BBC that Iran's lack of explanation for seizing the crew was a matter of "increasing concern." It's easy to see why.
Three American hikers whose families say they accidentally strayed across the Iraqi border into Iran were arrested last summer and were recently accused of espionage. In March 2007, the Revolutionary Guard captured 15 British sailors and marines on a patrol boat the Iranians claimed was in Iranian waters and the British insisted was in Iraqi waters. That crew was held for two weeks.
Both incidents captured headlines and instantly became high priorities for London and Washington in their dealings with Tehran at a time when pressuring Iran to give up key part of its nuclear program was already at the top of their agendas. Intentionally or not, Iran's seizure of the yachtsmen also provides a distraction at a time of heightened nuclear-related tension.
Last week the International Atomic Energy Agency slammed Iran for its lack of cooperation with IAEA inspectors and called on Iran to halt all new construction of nuclear facilities. In response, Ahmadinejad on Sunday declared his country would look into building 10 additional uranium-enrichment plants.
Tuesday evening in Britain, Miliband gave another interview expressing hope that the yachtsmen will be released quickly.
"There's been an intensification of contact in the course of the day. I've tonight spoken with the Iranian foreign minister, and the Iranian ambassador has had talks in London," he said. "We've been making a very simple point, which is that this is a consular case; here are five young British people, they're passionate about yachting, they've got nothing to do with politics. The Iranian investigation of the incident can take place quickly and then they should get home." But so far the Iranians have made no gesture suggesting that they're willing to back down.
