Hours? Perhaps not...
Days? Unlikely...
Weeks? Potentially...
Months? Perhaps so...
Years? Without a doubt...
Fifteen British Navy personnel have been captured at gunpoint by Iranian forces, the Ministry of Defence says.
The men were seized at 1030 local time when they boarded a boat in the Gulf, off the coast of Iraq, which they suspected was smuggling cars.
The Ministry of Defence said: "The group boarding party had completed a successful inspection of a merchant ship when they and their two boats were surrounded and escorted by Iranian vessels into Iranian territorial waters.
"We are urgently pursuing this matter with the Iranian authorities at the highest level.
"The British government is demanding the immediate and safe return of our people and equipment."
It is understood the men being held are safe and well.
Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett has summoned the Iranian ambassador to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, in an attempt to get the sailors and marines released as quickly as possible.
