Iranian Navy Getting Frisky in Iraqi Waters

I see that the Iranians are getting frisky with the Brits - perhaps trying to provoke an incident? It happened in Iraqi waters.

The British sailors had just finished the inspection when they were surrounded by Iranian vessels and escorted into Iranian waters, the British Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

Britain said the incident took place in Iraqi territorial waters, where British naval forces routinely board and search merchant vessels with permission from the United Nations.

“We are urgently pursuing this matter with the Iranian authorities at the highest level, and on the instructions of the Foreign Secretary, the Iranian ambassador has been summoned to the Foreign Office,” the British Defense Ministry said in a statement. “The British government is demanding the immediate and safe return of our people and equipment.”

Iranian officials could not immediately be reached for comment, news agencies said.

The seized British boarding party had left the frigate H.M.S. Cornwall on two small boats and were investigating a report that automobiles were being smuggled on the merchant ship, CNN reported. Such boarding parties are usually made up of sailors and Royal Marines assigned to the warship.

The British party was surrounded by six vessels from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Naval Corps and were told they were in Iranian waters, though British officials say they were actually in Iraqi waters, according to CNN.

The Brits are saying that their sailors were kidnapped by the Iranians. I'd go further than that and suggest that the Iranians are cruising for a bruising. Not only were they apparently violating the territorial waters of Iraq, but illegally boarded and took the British sailors and Royal Marines against their will. This is a casus belli for the Brits to take military action, though I doubt that the Brits will pursue such actions as much as the Iranians so royally deserve it.

The Iranians know that the Brits aren't in a position to take a strong position and the worst that they expect is more UN action, which isn't worth the paper it's written on.