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UK to Avoid Escalation Over Tehran DetaineesThe diplomatic crisis over Iran’s arrest of 15 British sailors and marines continued to simmer on Sunday as both sides contemplated their next moves. British officials have been keen not to overplay their reaction to the detention of the sailors - whom it says were on routine policing in Iraqi waters - so as not to elevate the arrests into a larger crisis that would make it harder for Iran to release them. more By The Financial Times

Posted 25/3/2007 @ 13:3:41 GMTHigh Alert at US and UK BasesOur military sources report that Middle East and Persian Gulf nations as well as the US and UK are bracing for further Iranian marine, air or terrorist operations in Iraq and other places in reprisal for the sanctions measure before the UN Security Council in New York. On the ready too are the Saudi armed forces and some Israeli air and naval units. more By DEBKAfile

Posted 25/3/2007 @ 12:52:26 GMTOil-rich Iran May Have to Ration Petrol Iranians last week celebrated the start of their new year, but alongside the festive goldfish and fireworks displays, 1386 might bring a rise in their petrol bills. After two years of dithering, the government is at last ready to introduce rationing and a price hike to reduce a subsidy that costs the country billions of dollars a year. more By The Economist

Posted 25/3/2007 @ 11:17:5 GMTIran Raises the Hostage StakesThe 15 British sailors and Royal Marines captured by Iranian Revolutionary Guards in a waterway separating Iran and Iraq were yesterday trapped in an outbreak of aggressive political brinkmanship that may mark a bleak turning point in the West’s relations with Tehran. more By The Sunday Times

Posted 25/3/2007 @ 11:0:11 GMTIran 'To Try Britons For Espionage'Fifteen British sailors and marines arrested by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards off the coast of Iraq may be charged with spying. A website run by associates of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, reported last night that the Britons would be put before a court and indicted. more By The Times

Posted 25/3/2007 @ 1:44:20 GMTSeized Britons Face Prosecution After Tehran Claims 'Confession'Iran defiantly rebuffed international demands yesterday for the release of 15 seized British naval personnel, claiming that the sailors and Royal Marines had confessed to entering its waters in an illegal act of aggression, and were now to be prosecuted in the Iranian capital. more By The Observer

Posted 25/3/2007 @ 1:22:5 GMTBlair Convenes Cobra Team as Crisis in Iran EscalatesThe official notification, delivered in secure calls yesterday morning to senior Whitehall figures, was the latest dramatic behind-the-scenes move to get to grips with a crisis that is now engulfing the government. more By Scotman

Posted 24/3/2007 @ 17:47:5 GMTWho Knows Who the Waters Belong to?The waters where Iranian navy forces seized 15 British sailors and marines are near an area long contested by Iran and Iraq, just outside the mouth of a muddy, 200 kilometer (125-mile)-long channel that separates the Arab and Persian worlds. more By The Associated Press