Nuclear Iran, Reloaded

In the Reloaded version of my blog, I'll write about Iran, its nuclear program, its culture, and most importantly, myself.

Monday, April 09, 2007

New pictures of British marines

BC Persian reports that Al-Alam TV (Official Iranian state television, but in Arabic) recently showed more pictures of the 15 British marines playing ping-pong and having fun. The new footage shows Lt Felix Carman joking around in front of the cameraman. The interesting part is that Lt Carman was the one who was complaining the most about the way he was being treated in Iran. (picture is taken from BBC's website)

My TV is on and I am switching between CNN and BBC to see if it is reported at all. It seems that it is not.

Update:
I found this page on the BBC website which only indicates that more videos are broadcasted, saying that the sailors were "socialising and relaxing".

Update2 (after 24 hours):
BBC didn't show the newly-released videos, but mentioned that more videos were broadcasted by Al-Alam. Nothing more. CNN, on the other hand, did show the footage.

Update3:
Jon Stewart has a funny show about these British marines:

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Saturday, April 07, 2007

What We Can Learn From Britain About Iran

VALI NASR and RAY TAKEYH have recently analyzed the British-Iranian standoff in an article they published in the New York Times. From the outcome of the standoff they conclude that:

"just as Iran will meet confrontation with confrontation, it will respond to what it perceives as flexibility with pragmatism"
This conclusion, in my opinion, is very well consistent with Iranians pride and prestige, inherent to their nationalistic disposition. This is something that is being ignored by most Iran analysts.

Tekyeh and Nasr even go further and provide solution to the current standoff between Iran and US, based on the conclusions they made from Iran-Britain standoff:

"After 28 years of sanctions and containment, it is time to accept that pressure has not tempered Iran’s behavior. The announced release of the British captives shows that the Islamic Republic is still willing to mitigate its ideology with pragmatism. A policy of patient engagement will change the context, and that may lead Iran to see relations with America to be in its own interest. Only then will Tehran chart a new course at home and abroad."

This is a well written article and a must-read for those interested in Iran affairs.


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