Q&A: the Seized British Sailors

What has happened?

Iranian naval vessels seized 15 British sailors last Friday on the Shatt al-Arab waterway, the border between Iran and Iraq.

The Ministry of Defence said that they were in Iraqi water.

The Iranians claimed the 15 Royal Navy personnel - 14 men and one woman - were in Iranian waters.

The British personnel, from the frigate HMS Cornwall, were engaged in a routine operation - searching for contraband and weapons on a dhow - when Iranian boats drew alongside and took the men at gunpoint.

What is the reaction?

Tony Blair said yesterday the capture was "serious", "unjustified and wrong". He demanded their release.

The Iranian foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, said that the UK personnel could face trial. "The charge against them is the illegal entrance into Iranian waters and detained them in Iranian waters," he said at the United Nations in New York. Britain's ambassador to Iran, Geoffrey Adams, is petitioning for their release.

Did the incident take place in a diplomatically sensitive area?

Yes, Iraq and Iran have disputed navigation rights on the Shatt al-Arab since 1935, when an international commission gave Iraq control.

There is also a general tension around Iraq and Iran's borders; British officials have accused Iran of supplying Iraqi insurgents with weapons and training.

A London-based Arabic newspaper, Asharq al-Awsat, citing Iranian sources, said the two-boat British patrol had been seized to exchange Iranian captives.

It claimed the Iranians want a prisoner swap for senior officers of the al-Quds brigade of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, who were captured by US forces in Irbil, Iraq, earlier this year.

Has this happened before?

In June 2004, six British marines and two sailors were seized by Iran in the Shatt al-Arab waterway. After being initially threatened with prosecution, they were released after high-level contacts between the then British foreign secretary, Jack Straw, and the then Iranian minister of foreign affairs, Kamal Kharrazi.

But some commentators believe it could be more difficult to secure the release of UK personnel this time around, since a more hardline government is now in power in Tehran following the Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's win in the presidential election of June 2005.

What state are UK-Iranian relations in?

Not as bad as relations between Washington and Tehran. Britain, at least, has diplomatic relations with Iran, though it is still characterised as the "little Satan" to the US's "big Satan".

If the captured sailors had been American, the diplomatic fallout could have been very dangerous.

But there is tension between Britain and Iran over not just the nuclear issue, but also allegations that Iran is helping insurgents in southern Iraq with advice and material for bombs targeting British troops around Basra.

What are British naval forces doing in the gulf?

British ships are working with a US naval force that has recently expanded with the arrival of a second aircraft carrier battle group, led by USS Stennis. The ships are engaged in routine patrols and the west has naval forces in the area as a matter of course to ensure the safe passage of oil tankers.

The US is committed to protecting Iraq's southern oil terminals against attack until the Iraqi navy can prove it is capable of ensuring the six miles of shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz stay open. Up to 80% of Europe's trade with Asia and a substantial proportion of the world's oil and gas are shipped through local waters.

Why has the US boosted its naval presence?

US officials say they want to send a message to Iran that America has plenty of military muscle in reserve despite its commitments in Iraq. The west and Iran are at loggerheads over Iran's determination to pursue uranium enrichment despite UN disapproval. At the weekend, the UN security council extended the sanctions against Iran.

A large western naval presence can be seen as part of a war of nerves as the US puts pressure on Iran to halt nuclear work that the Bush administration believes is for an atomic bomb.

Which British ships are in the Gulf?

Britain has recently boosted its naval presence, having sent HMS Cornwall, a type-22 frigate, two mine sweepers, HMS Ramsey and HMS Blythe, and a vessel from the Royal Fleet Auxiliary to the area.