In a move that will be reminding many Israelis of the kidnapping of Cpl. Gilad Shalit by Hizbollah (the trigger that forced Israel to tackle Hizbollah head on last summer) Iran (Hizbollah's state funders) yesterday kidnapped 15 British sailors (one a women) who were on an united nations aproved mission looking for smugglers off the coast of Iraq.

Iran has said the kidnapped sailors are being interrogated in Tehran. An Iranian General was quoted as saying the sailors had confessed under interrogation to "aggression into the Islamic Republic of Iran waters". One wonders what sort of "interrogation" this was.

Both the UK and the EU have demanded the sailors immediate release. It is thought Iran may be trying similar moves with the UK (to try tempt their opposition to Iran's nuclear program) as they did with Israel. This did not work with Israel and is very unlikely to work with the UK. If anything the move could strengthen Europes resolve against Iran. The British like to be "impartial" observers, claiming everyone is equally to blame in any situation. Under attack themselves this "impartiality" will not last long.