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Perspectives: Britain’s Iranian hostage crisis |
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Monday, 02 April 2007 |
Iran Focus
 London, Apr. 02 – The following are snippets of what Britain’s dailies have been saying about the capture of 15 British sailors and marines by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards:
“Most importantly, Iran is weighing Britain's reaction to the crisis. The Teheran regime wants to see how far the Government is prepared to go to secure the hostages' freedom.
If London uses diplomatic channels - however fruitless they may turn out to be - Iran will conclude that it can afford to take hostages again and again”.
The Daily Telegraph, 31 March 2007
“And it is precisely the threat of increasing international isolation that Iranians fear, a threat that is emerging as one of the key fault lines in Iran under Ahmadinejad, who is already facing internal criticism for his confrontational leadership style.
… But whatever the outcome, Iran's remaining allies should remind it that the only result of this crisis is that - day by day - the country comes closer to being an international pariah”.
The Observer, 1 April 2007
“Iran should not underestimate the damage it is doing to its own cause on the much more fundamental issue of its refusal to abandon uranium enrichment, by behaving the way it has in this episode”.
The Guardian, 29 March 2007
“MARGARET Thatcher and Margaret Beckett share a first name but that’s all.
Twenty-five years ago, Lady T dispatched a Task Force to reclaim the Falklands. British citizens had been captured and our territory invaded — and she did not hesitate.
Compare that with the feeble response of her namesake, the Foreign Secretary, over Iran.
British troops are imprisoned after being kidnapped in Iraqi waters and sickeningly paraded for propaganda.
... As Teddy Roosevelt, the former U.S. President, once said: The key to diplomacy is to speak softly and carry a big stick.
We appear to have mislaid the stick”.
The Sun, 2 April 2007
“There is growing evidence that the kidnapping of 15 British sailors nine days ago was a premeditated act of aggression by Iran. It is almost certainly no coincidence that the hijacking in Iraqi waters occurred the day before the United Nations security council voted to tighten sanctions on Iran over its nuclear weapons’ programme. It furthermore coincided with condemnations by American and British commanders of Iranian assistance to terrorists fighting the democratically elected Iraqi government.
… Britain needs to step up the pressure and show that it will not tolerate this behaviour. It must go back to the UN and use whatever diplomatic influence it has to get tougher action. Iran is vulnerable to trade embargoes and its economy is far from robust. ... The best way of bringing Iran to its senses is to hit it in its pocket. It may well be the bottom line that will decide the outcome of this confrontation".
The Sunday Times, 1 April 2007
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