Was There a Deal with Iran?

Officials defend go-ahead to cash in

(NEWSER) - Britain’s military chiefs are under fire for allowing 15 British sailors and Royal Marines released by Iran to sell their stories. Faye Turney has already closed a deal for almost $200,000, and at least two others are considering offers. The families of British servicemen killed and wounded in Iraq are outraged. More»

Brit sailors say they were threatened, psychologically tortured

(NEWSER) - Britain's freed sailors say they were blindfolded, psychologically tortured, and isolated from each other during their captivity in Iran. They were lined up while weapons were cocked, and told that if they did not say they were in Iranian waters when they were caught, they would face seven years in prison, the BBC reports. More»

Co-operation called, "Bloody Shambles"

(NEWSER) - As the euphoria over the homecoming of the 15 British captives subsides, some Britons are charging that the sailors and marines went overboard in co-operating with their captors. Lt. Gen. Sir Michael Gray tells London’s Daily Mail: "In my days you would have got name, rank and serial number and that would be your lot." He called the saiilors' behavior a "bloody shambles.” More»

(NEWSER) - The fifteen British sailors captured by Iran are back in the UK. As soon as the British Airways jet touched down as Heathrow, Blair traded his measured diplomatic tone for harsher words, warning the "elements of the Iranian regime" were still arming insurgents inside Iraq." More»

Iranian involvement suspected in Moore's abduction

(NEWSER) - Yesterday's release of British hostage Peter Moore two years after he was kidnapped in Iraq was secured by the transfer of an Iraqi Shia insurgent leader with strong ties to Iran. Qais al-Khazali—suspected of planning an attack that killed five US soldiers—has been shifted from US to Iraqi custody and will soon be freed under a reconciliation deal between the Iraq government and former insurgents, the Times of London reports. More»