Jump to content

UN Security Council calls for release of British soldiers in Iran

Add links
Unchecked
From Wikinews, the free news source you can write!

Friday, March 30, 2007

Flag of Iran Flag of the United Kingdom
2007 Iranian seizure of Royal Navy personnel
Recent news

The sailors' release, with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the background.

Wikipedia

The United Nations Security Council has issued a statement calling for a "early resolution" to the rising tensions between United Kingdom and Iran by releasing all 15 British sailors and marines who were detained by Iranian forces on March 23.

"Members of the Security Council expressed grave concern at the capture by the Revolutionary Guard and the continuing detention by the government of Iran of 15 United Kingdom naval personnel and appealed to the government of Iran to allow consular access in terms of the relevant international laws," said the U.N. Security Council in a statement.

"Members of the Security Council support calls, including by the secretary general in his March 29 meeting with the Iranian foreign minister, for an early resolution of this problem including the release of the 15 UK personnel," added the statement.

United Nations Security Council.

All 15 members of the Council agreed to the wording of the statement and released it after nearly four hours of debate, but Russia and South Africa opposed to having the statement or the Council's recommendations be "too harsh" or to put the blame fully on the Iranian government.

Iran released a statement shortly after the Security Council met saying that getting the U.N. involved, "will not be helpful."

"This case can and should be settled through bilateral channels. The British government's attempt to engage third parties, including the Security Council, with this case is not helpful," said a statement released by Iran's U.N Mission.

The sailors and marines from the frigate HMS Cornwall had been inspecting, in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1723, a ship that was believed to be smuggling cars into Iraq, though it was subsequently cleared after inspection when Iranian gunboats surrounded the sailors and arrested them at gunpoint.

On Thursday, Iran stated that they are "suspending" the release of the 15 soldiers, including Faye Turney a female soldier, 26, who was supposed to be released "very soon."

[edit]

Sources

[edit]

Share this:  E-mail this story Share on Facebook Share on reddit.com Share on LinkedIn.com Share on twitter.com


This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.

Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.

This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.
Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/UN_Security_Council_calls_for_release_of_British_soldiers_in_Iran"