Their point of origin was the frigate H.M.S. Cornwall that has been stationed off the border between Iraq and Iran interdicting smuggling operation in and out of Iraq.

The ship they were after was Indian and Iran claims they were summoned by the Indians when it was clear that the Brits were going to board.

Most assuredly the Marines were armed but with no more than infantry gear; rifles, pistols and such. I suspect the Brits were in Zodiac type craft. If so it had no onboard weapons. Sending smaller boats to board is s.o.p. There’s no way anyone would want to maneuver a frigate alongside a freighter on the high seas and in a war zone.

Suffice to say whatever patrol boats Iran sent out (or were already there) were better armed than what the Brits were in.

This interdicting has been going on for years (thanks George). Iran has been bitching about it for years and the costal border itself between Iraq and Iran has been disputed for nearly forever. There have been numerous stare-down contests in the same area. This was just the first time someone decided to take a prize.

The H.M.S. Cornwall was likely idling in International waters. By the time it cranked the engines and went to general quarters the hostages would be on their way to their new Iranian digs.

There was a helicopter stationed above the Indian ship. It’s GPS showed it to be several miles inside Iraqi waters. It took the Iranians three reporting tries to get their GPS coordinates to agree with their claims that everyone was in Iranian waters. LOL.

Nevertheless you are correct in saying no one did anything to stop it. Not one shot was fired. American support was nearby, aware of the situation, but was not called in. This makes me suspect that there were general orders not to engage if Iran decided to stick their nose in. Additionally, the Iranians had been all bluster and no bite in the past in similar situations in the past. It is possible the British never suspected that this time would be any different.

Iran had just been slapped down by the UN Security Council to (suspend uranium enrichment) with arms and financial sanctions. Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah had just publicly and embarrassingly warned Ahmadinejad to stop bating the Americans. For a state whose foundations are the cult of manhood it had lost a great deal of face in a few days. The West has never understood that the best way to make any Iranian (or Iraqi or any Middle East type) do something irrational and stupid is to emasculate them.

Ahmadinejad does not have operational control of what’s going on along the coast. He’s a useful loudmouthed puppet for scaring the West but the real power is held by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his regional mullahs. Blessings be to Allah, these mullahs are constantly bickering between themselves. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei may be able to herd them but he does not control them in a military sense. As with many recent pickles with Iran, the Iranian government finds itself forced to justify incidents it never ordered.

Were I a betting man I’d place odds at 3:1 that the Brits did not enter Iranian waters. Still I have the slightest nagging doubt based on the innate stupidity of military bureaucracy.

jje

Call That Humiliation?

Volt