Britain was examining options yesterday for new dialogue with Tehran over the seized crew of 15 sailors and marines, as a poll suggested most Britons backed the government's goal of resolving the standoff through diplomacy.
Government and defense officials refused to discuss a report that claimed a Royal Navy captain or commodore would be sent to Tehran as a special envoy to negotiate a release.
The official would deliver an assurance that British naval crews would never deliberately enter Iranian waters without permission, the Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported.
Britain's Foreign Office and Defense Ministry said they would not comment on negotiations or on options being considered.
But Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander said Britain was "exploring the potential for dialogue with the Iranians."
Officials, but not ministers, were holding a crisis committee meeting to discuss developments, the Cabinet Office said. British media reports said diplomats were increasingly pessimistic over the prospects of a swift resolution to the incident.
A defense ministry spokeswoman declined to comment on claims officials had lost optimism, saying speculation about diplomatic efforts threatened to hinder progress.
British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett appeared to soften rhetoric against Iran on Saturday -- though she stopped far short of the apology sought by many in Iran.
The Foreign Office and Prime Minister Tony Blair's office said they welcomed US President George W. Bush's intervention -- calling on Saturday for the release of the sailors and marines and labeling their capture by Tehran "inexcusable behavior."
Eight British sailors and seven marines were detained by Iranian naval units on March 23 while patrolling for smugglers near the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab, a waterway that has long been a disputed dividing line between Iraq and Iran.
A poll published in the Sunday Telegraph said that 66 percent of respondents trusted Blair and Beckett to resolve the crisis, while 28 percent did not. Only 7 percent thought the government should be preparing to use military force.
Meanwhile, in Tehran, about 100 took part in a protest in front of the British embassy that was marked by several small blasts inside the embassy compound. Britain said no damage had been done and no one was hurt in the protest.
One witness cited eight blasts saying they came from small, home-made explosive devices.
The blasts were heard as demonstrators surged towards a barrier in the middle of the road near the embassy and crossed into the lines of police. Each blast sent a small plume of smoke into the air.
also see story:
TV footage brings relief to British hostages' families
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique