Tehran's Hostages

Tehran's Hostages : http://iranvajahan.net/cgi-bin/news.pl?l=en&y=2007&m=03&d=26&a=13
Advocates of engagement with Tehran often claim that the Islamic Republic long ago shed its revolutionary pretensions in favor of becoming a "status quo" power. They might want to share that soothing wisdom with the families of the 15 British sailors and marines kidnapped Friday in Iraqi territorial waters by the naval forces of the elite, and aptly named, Iranian Revolutionary Guards.
By The Wall Street Journal Editorial
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Posted 27/3/2007 @ 10:14:50 GMTFinancial Criminal Captivates TehranTEHRAN -- The international crisis over the seizure of 15 British sailors and marines has been overshadowed in Iran by the arrest of a high-profile financial criminal, whose case has exposed corruption and fiscal mismanagement in the upper ranks of the Islamic Republic. more By The Washington Times

Posted 27/3/2007 @ 10:10:20 GMTIran's Central Bank Says It's Cutting U.S. Dollar Reserves Iran's central bank is cutting its U.S. dollar reserves to less than 20 percent. The country has no ``meaningful'' economic relations with the U.S., Iran Central Bank Governor Ebrahim Sheibany told reporters today in Kuala Lumpur, where he is attending an Islamic finance conference. more By Stephanie Phang and David Yong

Posted 27/3/2007 @ 9:59:19 GMTChina Shifts to Euros for Iran OilBEIJING -- China's state-run Zhuhai Zhenrong Corp, the biggest buyer of Iranian crude worldwide, began paying for its oil in euros late last year as Tehran moves to diversify its foreign reserves away from U.S. dollars. more By Reuters

Posted 27/3/2007 @ 9:55:12 GMTBlair Warns of "Different Phase" for IranTony Blair has warned of a "different phase" if talks fail to secure the release of the 15 British service personnel held in Iran. more By ITN

Posted 27/3/2007 @ 9:46:24 GMTBritish-made Aircraft Sold to IranLONDON -- A British-made aircraft has been sold to Iran, the first new Western-made aircraft acquired by Tehran since the 1979 Islamic revolution, an adviser to the deal said on Monday. more By Reuters

Posted 27/3/2007 @ 9:39:5 GMTThug NationIran's brash seizure on Friday of 15 British sailors and marines shows just how dangerous the Islamist regime has become. Given the Iranian government's announcement, two days later, that it would cease to cooperate fully with international nuclear inspectors, it is clear the time for pussyfooting is over: The international community needs to impose sanctions on Iran stringent enough to make it a complete pariah state. more By National Post

Posted 27/3/2007 @ 9:18:11 GMTUK 'Has Proof' Sailors Were Not in IranThe British government is preparing to release what it says is evidence demonstrating that its 15 naval personnel detained by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards last Friday were seized while in Iraqi waters and not inside Iranian territory. more By The Financial Times

Posted 26/3/2007 @ 21:28:33 GMTWestern Defense Experts ask Questions about Iran's Invisible Shehab-3A group of Western military experts, who carried out a recent in-depth study of Iran’s high-sounding war games and scary weaponry, has concluded that they are largely a show is put on to conceal a poorly-equipped, under-trained military and elite Revolutionary Guards corps. more By DEBKAfile

Posted 26/3/2007 @ 17:21:51 GMTThe Ayatollahs' Escalation Wars have started over less. The March 23 seizure of 15 British sailors and marines by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Navy can be called many things, but spontaneous isn’t one of them. It was another in a long series of tests of Western resolve that Iran has posed and we have failed. Iran is -- cleverly and gradually -- escalating its war for control of the Middle East. more By Human Events

Posted 26/3/2007 @ 16:36:51 GMTRussia, China Urge Iran to Heed U.N.The presidents of Russia and China on Monday called on Iran to fulfill the U.N. Security Council's demands over its disputed atomic program, a day after the Islamic republic announced it was partially suspending cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog. more By The Associated Press

Posted 26/3/2007 @ 12:19:48 GMTIntelligence Assets Listen in to TeheranThe antennae of all British signals intelligence assets will now be pointing at Iran to gather information on the location of the 15 prisoners and the intentions of those holding them. At GCHQ headquarters in Cheltenham, listeners fluent in Farsi will be monitoring the mobile telephone and signalling airwaves of the Revolutionary Guards. more By Telegraph