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Iran Cleric Says British Embassy Staff to Stand Trial

Tashah

Tashah

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Iran Cleric Says British Embassy Staff to Stand Trial
By ALAN COWELL and STEPHEN CASTLE
Published: July 3, 2009

PARIS — Brushing aside British and European efforts to seek the release of local British Embassy staff members held in Tehran, the Iranian authorities indicated Friday that they planned to put some of them on trial — a move that could deepen a crisis in diplomatic relations with the European Union and provoke the withdrawal of ambassadors.

News reports on Friday quoted Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, the head of the influential Guardian Council and an ally of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as telling worshipers at Friday Prayers in Tehran that the local employees would be tried after they “made confessions.” Ayatollah Jannati did not say how many of the British detainees would be tried or what charges they would face, news reports said. Reuters quoted him as saying, “In these developments their embassy here maintained a presence in which individuals were arrested and inevitably they will be tried as they have made confessions.”

The idea of British Embassy staff members on trial recalled some of the images in 2007 when Iranian television paraded some of 15 captured British sailors making what were called confessions that they had entered Iranian territorial waters illegally.
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Source: NYTimes

I personally think the Iranians would prefer to expel British embassy staff rather than put them on trial. Might be interesting to see how this plays out.
 
Iran feels bolder with this current US administration, that it is now affecting our allies.
 
Tashah said:
Source: NYTimes

I personally think the Iranians would prefer to expel British embassy staff rather than put them on trial. Might be interesting to see how this plays out.
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My reading of the complete article indicates these staffers are Iranian, so expelling them would not be an option.
 
Why are we not getting back our staff?
Oh we are so screwed. We have a ***** for a PM. He'll bend over and take it up the ass from Iran.
 
WillRockwell said:
My reading of the complete article indicates these staffers are Iranian, so expelling them would not be an option.
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I myself have an Iranian friend that was expelled. It is an option.
 
WillRockwell said:
My reading of the complete article indicates these staffers are Iranian, so expelling them would not be an option.
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From the article:

Ayatollah Jannati did not say how many of the British detainees would be tried or what charges they would face, news reports said.
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Seems like they do have a British citizenship.
I'm confused.
 
WillRockwell said:
My reading of the complete article indicates these staffers are Iranian, so expelling them would not be an option.
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Of course it would. Take away their citizenship, especially if they have dual citizenship. Tons of countries in the region do it to "undesirables" .. Osama Bin Laden is not a Saudi Citizen any more for example even though he was born there and grew up there.
 
Iran is playing a very dangerous game here. It still has some support from Germany and Italy, it's two biggest EU trading partners. But to begin these mock trials of foreign nationals in order to consolidate it's weakening influence, will prove too strong to keep the even those partners as friends.

The U.S. and the world are going to have to apply ample pressure now to let Iran know they MUST behave.
 
Iranian cleric: British Embassy staff to be tried

Iranian cleric: British Embassy staff to be tried - Yahoo! News

A powerful cleric said Friday that Iran will put British Embassy staffers on trial for fomenting postelection turmoil, a step that would likely increase Iran's isolation and alienate Western nations that have been trying to keep options open with Tehran despite its crackdown on protesters.

The announcement fueled calls in Europe for tougher action against Tehran. Britain is pressing for members of the European Union to pull their ambassadors out of Tehran to protest the staffers' arrests last week.

The standoff is a test of how far Iran's clerical rulers are willing to go to shore up their position at home after the wave of protests — even if they risk wrecking possibilities for dialogue between Tehran and the West, a major policy goal of President Barack Obama that Tehran cautiously welcomed.

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Appeasement does not work and Obama is not helping the stability of the world with his Neville Chamberlain, Rodney King can't we all just get along approach. It does not work to be seen as a weak limp wristed talk a lot but do nothing leader who's style and naivete serve to embolden those who appose the U.S. and our allies and what we stand for as is seen not only in this story but the actions of N. Korea..
I believe this situation is a major crises in the making.
It also makes me wonder what the end game could possibly be for these nations with rouge leaders.
Iran seems to be willing to blame the protests at least to the rest of the world on outside forces rather than face the truth that the people don't like the status quo.
 
Reverend_Hellh0und said:
Iran feels bolder with this current US administration, that it is now affecting our allies.
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Your opinion maybe. Iran and NK are doing what they always have.

Bush never stopped Iran's or NK nuclear program.

NK has been playing cat and mouse for years on that one and Iran has continued their nuke program even while bush was president.

Sorry, but your OPINION doesn't hold water.
 
Iran Arrests Iranian Employees of British Embassy as Protests Return


"The government’s arrest of nine Iranian employees of the British Embassy was a significant escalation in its conflict with Britain, which Tehran has sought to cast as an instigator of the unrest since the disputed June 12 election."



Iran tests Obama's diplomatic strategy


"Also on the foreign front, tensions with North Korea are high, following U.N. sanctions to penalize Pyongyang for testing a nuclear bomb in May and firing missiles over Japan. Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates last week ordered missile interceptors and radar to Hawaii to defend against a possible attack by North Korea.

Domestically, the slowdown of the president's health care reform agenda on Capitol Hill corresponds with new polling showing growing uncertainty among the American public about Mr. Obama's handling of the economy and the federal budget. "


It is only natural for these yahoos to test the President while he is busy socializing.

No matter the outcome Obama is going to attempt to engage whomever ends on top in Iran. My money is on the guys with tanks.
 
akyron said:
It is only natural for these yahoos to test the President while he is busy socializing.

No matter the outcome Obama is going to attempt to engage whomever ends on top in Iran. My money is on the guys with tanks.
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Iran also tested Bush too, and guess what, they didn't give up their nuclear program. So is bush a failure?

Bottom line, is that Iran's leadership is going to remain IMO. It is going to be treated much like Bush Senior and Bush Junior did (in the beginning). They will remain even though their elections are a farse.

Remember, the only reason Saddam was removed, was not because of farse elections.
 
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Tashah said:
Source: NYTimes

I personally think the Iranians would prefer to expel British embassy staff rather than put them on trial. Might be interesting to see how this plays out.
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Isn't this the same British Government that doesn't consider the Iranian proxy Hezbollah's political wing to be a terrorist organization?
 
Apocalypse said:
From the article:


Seems like they do have a British citizenship.
I'm confused.
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I suspect thats just poor wording. I would have thought they would have diplomatic immunity if they were Brittish. They,ve been described as "local employees of the Brittish embasy" in the press over here.Looks like a poor attempt on the part of the Iranian government at asociating the protestors with us.
 
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TheNextEra said:
Your opinion maybe. Iran and NK are doing what they always have.

Bush never stopped Iran's or NK nuclear program.

NK has been playing cat and mouse for years on that one and Iran has continued their nuke program even while bush was president.

Sorry, but your OPINION doesn't hold water.
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Actually they slowed it down, significantly, they are going full throttle now given the image that Obama is a leftist backing weeny....,
 
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