Iran demands Return of Nationals from US Custody

Iran demands nationals' release

BBC News
Sunday, 14 January 2007

Iran has demanded that the US military immediately release five of its nationals detained in a raid in northern Iraq on Thursday.

Iran's foreign ministry says the men are diplomats and were working at the Iranian liaison office in Irbil.

US officials say they are linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard which they say trains and arms Iraqi insurgents.

Mr Hosseini said the building the Americans attacked opened in 1992 and was officially registered as the Iranian consulate. The Iraqi authorities have said it was a liaison office in the process of being registered as a consulate.

Iran is adamant the office and the staff inside should have had diplomatic protection and that America's action was illegal.

You know if American citizens where seized from an American consulate somewhere in the world by a foreign country you can bet that US media would be up in arms and screaming for blood with 24/7 coverage on the news.

You can also bet that half of this board would be calling for blood and raving mad for revenge. But since the situation is reversed, nothing.

The US response so far:

US warns Iran on Iraq 'meddling'

US Vice-President Dick Cheney has warned Iran not to interfere in Iraq.

The US government thought it was very important that the Iranians should "keep their folks at home", he said.

Unbelievable.

tick... tick... tick...
.

Well, it used to be that those Iranians in captivity could probably be pretty sure they wouldn't be raped, abused, tortured, or murdered. But under this administration, they're as good as dead. Ok ok, that might be a bit harsh. But just a BIT.

I wonder who Iran's gonna call to negotiate their release. Hmm, maybe they oughta try Chavez. He's got 15% of our oil imports he could bargain with.

Or, they might try Jimmy Carter, seeing as he's been thrown outta Israel.

[edit on 14-1-2007 by TrueAmerican]

This action again underscores just who is running things in Iraq, and it sure isn't the Iraqi puppet government

This was nothing more than another prod to try and ellicit a response from Iran, in much the same way as US and UK forces carried out actions against Iraq before the invasion, trying to get a response to justify military action. The Iranians are just not biting though, making it harder for the United States of Israel to justify an attack

This sort of action also makes it clear that the idea of diplomatic immunity no longer applies, possibly putting foreign diplomats - maybe there are still some trying to open dialogue - in danger and making them irrelevent.

What if it is determined that these Iranians are part of an insurgent support group, and are providing training, and weapons?
What if they ARE responsible for the deaths of Iraqi citizens, and American military?

Should we return them?

A straight answer is appreciated.

Originally posted by spacedoubt
What if it is determined that these Iranians are part of an insurgent support group, and are providing training, and weapons?
What if they ARE responsible for the deaths of Iraqi citizens, and American military?

Should we return them?

A straight answer is appreciated.

Then we should announce that we are holding them, try them by a fair and nonpartisan jury, and let Iran know that we are holding them for actual crimes...

Not "what if's"

Oh that's right! We don't give people fair and equal trials anymore, because we have reduced ourselves to the level of people that my country used to look down upon.

If the United States cannot prove without a reasonable doubt that these people are criminals, and prosecute them according to usual standards afforded anyone else from another country that commits a crime in this country, then yes, they should be returned.


[edit on 1/14/07 by niteboy82]

If the Iraqi government thought that these Iranians were responsible for the deaths of US forces or Iraqis then it should be down to them to expel those people. The fact that they were in Iraq at the invitation of the Iraqi government but arrested by the US makes it clear who is running the country.

Just another blatant provocation by GWB in his quest for moe war.

It was not a consulate or diplomatic compound, therefore no international rules were broken.

The individuals captured did not have diplomatic immunity.

It's nice the way some jump to conclusions as long as the answer is about how 'bad' the US is.

Try some facts.

[edit on 15-1-2007 by ferretman2]

It's a war zone. They aren't diplomats. These insurgent terrorists got caught and now Iran is whining. Well ... that's just too d*** bad.

IRAN - Next time, keep your insurgents in your own country and out of a war zone where they are training our enemy and you won't have to worry about them getting caught. It's your own fault.

Hmmm, here's an idea....how about we just keep them for as long as they kept our people in 1979. Let's see...that was 444 days or so??

And then you have Gates comming to NATO HQ in Brussels saying the Iranians aren't helping and can't be reasoned with.

I wonder why they don't feel like working with the US and rather take their own approach ...

And I thought the US was there to help Iraq, it seams they don't give a dam what the Iraqi government wants.

Six Iranians held in a US military raid in northern Iraq were working there with the approval of the authorities, Iraq's foreign minister has said.

The Iranian liaison office in Irbil did not yet have full consular diplomatic status but it had been operating for years, Hoshyar Zebari said.

The US said it believed the six people seized in Thursday's raid had targeted Iraqi and US-led coalition forces.

Russia said the raid was "unacceptable" and a violation of international law.

"It is absolutely unacceptable for troops to storm the consular offices of a foreign state on the territory of another state," Russian foreign ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said.

"It is also not clear how this fits in with American statements that Washington respects the sovereignty of Iraq," he said.

news.bbc.co.uk...

The Iranian liaison office in Irbil did not yet have full consular diplomatic status

no international laws were broken.

maybe these iranians were helping the insurgency.........

In that case wouldn't you want them captured?

How do you know they are innocent?

('you' meaning general person)

Maybe Iran needs to mind their own business if they dont want a bloody nose. They keep messign around in Iraq and they may get more than they ever bargained for.

Originally posted by Edn
And I thought the US was there to help Iraq, it seams they don't give a dam what the Iraqi government wants.

Well, thats strange. I dont see anything in the article you linked that says Iraq was upset about it.

Perhaps I can help you with that.

Mithal Alusi, a member of the (Iraqi) National Parliament, charged that the detainees were Iranian intelligence officers involved in terrorist activities in northern Iraq. He insisted that they did not have diplomatic status.

U.S. raids in northern Iraq nab several Iranians

Oh, sorry, I guess that really didn't help out did it?
Kinda makes it look like the Iraqi gov wanted this, doesn't it?

Let me try again.
I seem to remember something else about how Iraqi's feel about another Iran "Consulate" in Iraq back in June '06.

The protesters broke the main gate and threw stones at the building. They also set fire to an annex used as a reception room and destroyed a car belonging to the consulate, according to an Associated Press reporter on the scene.

One Iraqi climbed to the building's roof and pulled down the Iranian flag, raising the Iraqi flag in its place.

Iraqis Attack Iranian Consulate in Basra

On June 14, (2006), some 500 Iraqis attacked Iran's consulate in Basra, torching parts of the compound.

The protest followed a similar one days earlier outside the Iranian consulate in the holy city of Karbala.

The participants in both demonstrations were supporters of prominent Iraqi Shiite Ayatollah Mahmoud al-Hassani, an outspoken critic of Iranian meddling in Iraq.

Iran’s consulate in southern Iraq city comes under attack

Basically, the Iranian Consulate in Basra opened in late May 2006, and was torched by the Iraqi people within a month.

Oh, guess that didn't help you either.
Kinda makes it look like the Iraqi's aren't to partial to the Iranians meddling after all.

Ok, lets look closer at the current incident.

Jan. 11, 2007 Release A070111c
FIVE DETAINED IN SECURITY OPERATION IN GREATER IRBIL AREA

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition Forces conducting routine security operations in Irbil Jan. 11 detained six individuals suspected of being closely tied to activities targeting Iraqi and Coalition Forces. One individual was released and five remain in custody.

This operation was part of an ongoing effort by Coalition Forces targeting individuals involved in activities aimed at the killing of Iraqi citizens and Iraqi and Coalition Forces.

The suspects were detained in the Old Korea area of Irbil. The detained individuals will be questioned and the documents and equipment that was removed will be examined to determine the extent of the alleged illegal or terrorist activity. Based on the outcome of that investigation, appropriate action will be taken regarding the detainees.

MULTI-NATIONAL FORCE-IRAQ COMBINED PRESS INFORMATION CENTER BAGHDAD, Iraq

So, Coalition Forces detained the 6 individuals, who are suspected of being closely tied to activities targeting Iraqi and Coalition Forces. They released one almost immediately. The rest did not have diplomatic immunity, and will be held until an investigation is complete. The building was not a Diplomatic Embassy, or Consulate.

Somehow, this doesn't sound uni-lateral, unreasonable, against Iraqi interests, nor against the Iraqi gov & peoples wishes. Neither is it contrary to the Coalitions stated goals, or International Convention.

In addition, one of the Iranian's reported to have been detained is a very bad boy. I'll let you look up the references to Hassan Abbasi.

Oh, guess that didn't help either? My bad.


[edit on 1/15/07 by makeitso]

Nice work, makeitso. I'm glad someone here actually took the time to research the topic instead of rushing to conclusions.

Originally posted by pugachev
Nice work, makeitso. I'm glad someone here actually took the time to research the topic instead of rushing to conclusions.

So am I, I get so tired of the eurocons rushing to conclusions in some feeble minded attempt to slander the US.

Originally posted by XphilesPhan

So am I, I get so tired of the eurocons rushing to conclusions in some feeble minded attempt to slander the US.

I get really tired too. Can't they just stay on the UK and European politics boards? They definitely can discuss their many problems instead of attacking the US all the time

This reminds me of vietnam and cambodia. I am not for the war, i think it would be best for the U.S. to stay out of the affairs of other nations but the military industrial complex makes too much money to get the hell outa there. As for these people that were captured, its hard to know who they really are. I dont trust anything the government says about the middle east. They say they're insurgent trainers but the U.S. Government also said that there were WMDs in Iraq and that Iraq was directly linked to 9/11. The US government prolly wont let them go and we'll be fighting Iran too. Hell if we're lucky maybe we can start World War III over this.

So the mad man in the white House have to find some links to Iran in Iraq so he can declare his next attack to finish what he started.

Meanwhile he care less what the American or Iraqi people wants or if is a congress of a constitution to dictate what his powers are.

He is the chosen one darn it and he is in mission from god.

let the heads of the Iranians roll down the border now.

[edit on 15-1-2007 by marg6043]

Originally posted by Britguy
This action again underscores just who is running things in Iraq, and it sure isn't the Iraqi puppet government

This was nothing more than another prod to try and ellicit a response from Iran, in much the same way as US and UK forces carried out actions against Iraq before the invasion, trying to get a response to justify military action. The Iranians are just not biting though, making it harder for the United States of Israel to justify an attack

This sort of action also makes it clear that the idea of diplomatic immunity no longer applies, possibly putting foreign diplomats - maybe there are still some trying to open dialogue - in danger and making them irrelevent.

Your just spouting rhetoric. You have the right to an opinion, but you shouldn't present it as fact. I will just use the original source statement to prove you wrong on point one:
The Iraqi Gov. it's self say it is a liason office - Not a consulate.
Point two:
That "puppet Government" was voted into existence by Iraqi nationals, not the U.S..