By ROBERT H. REID
Associated Press Writer
At first, Iran seemed willing to quickly resolve the standoff over 15 seized British sailors. But its airing of a prisoner video and Britain's decision to seek U.N. action signal a tough new phase in the dispute.
The British move to the U.N. may have been a red flag to Iran's hardliners, who have long considered the world body little more than an instrument of U.S. and British policy.
That could explain the sharp reversal in Iran's posture regarding the British sailors and marines, who were seized Friday after inspecting an Indian merchant ship in the Persian Gulf.
The British maintain the incident occurred in Iraqi waters. Iran is equally adamant the British encroached on Iranian territory.
Iran had been signaling it wanted a quick end to the standoff, offering assurances it would not seek to exchange the Britons for Iranians held by the U.S. military in Iraq.
Then on Wednesday, Iran's foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, went further, telling The Associated Press that the only woman among the captives, Faye Turney, would be freed by the following day.
And in London, the Iranian Embassy was offering public assurances that Britain and Iran could resolve the standoff “through their close contacts and cooperation.''
By Thursday, however, things were going awry.
Instead of freeing Turney, Iran's chief negotiator Ali Larijani warned that the case “may face a legal path'' - a clear threat to prosecute the Britons in court.
Iran's military chief, Gen. Ali Reza Afshar, told an Iranian news agency that Turney's release had been suspended because of the “wrong behavior'' of the British government.
For years, the Islamic Republic has been known to send out mixed signals on major issues - ranging from statements of accommodation to hardline declarations.
That partly reflects the divided nature of Iran's government, which includes both sophisticated, more moderate figures familiar with the West and hardline clerics whose domestic political credibility is based on opposition to the West.
The naval forces of Iran's hardline Revolutionary Guards are believed to have seized the British sailors and marines.
“There is almost certainly a policy struggle going on in Tehran over how to handle this situation, and the Foreign Ministry is losing. The Revolutionary Guards have the upper hand,'' said Mark Fitzpatrick, an Iran expert at the International Institute of Strategic Studies in London.
Despite internal differences, all sides in Iran do share a common interest in promoting Iran as a major regional power that the West must take seriously.
And Iran has proved again and again that it is capable of causing trouble - even to major powers such as Britain and the U.S. - when it feels it's not being taken seriously. Iranian pride appeared to have been taken aback when Britain responded negatively to what Iran considered initial diplomatic overtures.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair delivered a strong statement Wednesday, declaring “there was no justification whatever'' for seizing the sailors. Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett then announced a freeze on most bilateral contacts with Iran.
Iran stoked the flames itself Wednesday, airing a video of the captives, including Turney wearing a black Islamic head scarf. London was outraged by the display and questioned whether she had been under duress.
Britain asked its fellow Security Council members to support a statement that would “deplore'' Tehran's action and demand the Britons' immediate release.
That, in turn, enraged the Iranians.
“It is very strange for us that the British government has turned the case into a media issue with harsh political behavior,'' Larijani said. “We were interested in solving the case through mutual diplomatic channels.''
To the Iranians, the British action appeared the latest step in a Western campaign to isolate and humiliate Tehran: A day after the Britons were seized, the Security Council voted unanimously to impose new sanctions on Iran for its nuclear program.
Iran's hardline president has often derided the Security Council as the tool of the Americans and the British - deliberately rekindling memories of U.S. and British domination until the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
“Iran feels that it is blocked in diplomatic, economic and military fields,'' said Iranian analyst Saeed Laylaz. He predicted the country “will continue to use the case of the British sailors as a card to reduce pressure from the international community.''
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Robert H. Reid is correspondent-at-large for The Associated Press based in Amman, Jordan, and has reported from the Middle East frequently since 1978.
