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Your World Today

Controversy Over Location of British Ship; Second U.S. Aircraft Carrier Moves Into Persian Gulf

Aired March 28, 2007 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARGARET BECKETT, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: We will therefore be imposing a freeze on all other official bilateral business with Iran until this situation is resolved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Britain says the marine hostage crisis puts all other diplomatic talks with Iran on the back burner.

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: A second U.S. carrier moves into the Gulf for exercises. Iran says, we're not concerned.

GORANI: A top Republican candidate for president says some Baghdad neighborhoods are perfectly safe, but does the reality match the rhetoric?

CLANCY: And a most unusual hostage crisis ends peacefully in the Philippines.

It's 5:00 p.m. right now in London, 7:00 in the evening in Baghdad, Iraq.

Hello and welcome, everyone, to our report broadcast around the globe.

I'm Jim Clancy.

GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani.

From Munich to Mumbai, Beijing to Beirut, wherever you're watching, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

CLANCY: Hello, everyone. Britain right now tightening the diplomatic squeeze on Iran, just one of several new developments involving those captured royal sailors and marines.

GORANI: Well, we have word that the only female captive could soon be released while Iranian TV plans to air the first images of all 15 in custody.

CLANCY: Also, London is putting new evidence on the table, evidence it says proves the Britons were not in Iranian waters. Let's start on the diplomatic front. Britain says all other business with Iran taking a back seat to this present crisis. Prime Minister Tony Blair and Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett, both addressing the House of Commons, detailing new diplomatic pressure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BECKETT: We are now in a new phase of diplomatic activity. That is why MoD released details of the incident and why I have concluded that we need to focus all our bilateral efforts during this phase on the resolution of this issue. We will therefore be imposing a freeze on all other official bilateral business with Iran until this situation is resolved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: There was no justification whatever, therefore, for their detention. It was completely unacceptable, wrong and illegal.

We had hoped to see their immediate release. This has not happened. It is now time to ratchet up the diplomatic and international pressure in order to make sure that the Iranian government understands their total isolation on this issue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Well, Iran, for its part, says the British troops illegally strayed into that country's waters. But Britain has denied that from the start. And now it says it has proof. It's also accusing Iran of changing its story, revising the coordinates of the British ship.

Let's bring in Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr to help us sort out the evidence that has been presented -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Hala, hello to you.

You know, the Pentagon's trying to stay behind the scenes on this entire matter, very low key. But make no mistake, they are watching it hour by hour. And there was a lot of interest earlier today when the British MoD in London released a number of pieces of what it says is evidence that its people were operating in Iraqi waters, not in Iranian waters when they were seized.

Let's go to one very key photograph released by the British MoD. Let's leave it up for a while.

What you will see, of course, here is a British Lynx helicopter flying overhead, over the cargo ship that they were inspecting at the time of this. Let's leave this picture up and explain it to everyone for a minute. This is a helicopter flying overhead, a British Lynx. You see British personnel holding a GPS coordinates device over the cargo ship. The cargo ship never changed position from the time it was boarded, with its cooperation by the British military. This photograph taken some time after the whole incident occurred, but the cargo ship didn't change position. That's very key.

So, the British going back, flying over the ship, getting the GPS coordinates that they say proved their people were operating in Iraqi waters, 1.7 nautical miles inside Iraqi waters. That was just one piece of evidence released by the MoD.

Earlier today, the British MoD also saying that the initial coordinates were agreed to by Iran as being inside Iraqi waters, and then they say the Iranians came back with a different set of coordinates some time after that, then claiming that the British were inside their territorial waters. So, a lot of effort, Hala, to put the evidence out there.

You see the map here. A lot of effort to put out the details as the British MoD see them of these changing positions that they say the Iranians were claiming in their government. But still an effort to try and get it resolved through diplomatic channels.

And, of course, a lot of interest at these emerging news reports that the female British hostage, if you will, may be released by the Iranian government some time within the next day or so. That is a very hopeful sign, sources here say, but here at the Pentagon, they still are trying to play this low key, let the British, of course, take the lead, try and let this be resolved through diplomatic channels -- Hala.

GORANI: All right. Barbara Starr, thank you very much -- Jim.

CLANCY: Well, you know, the debate is going to go on, you can bet on this one. And it all depends on where you draw the line.

The Shatt al-Arab is not one of the world's best known waterways, but even people who do know it have trouble figuring out just where Iranian waters end and Iraqi waters begin.

Jonathan Mann joins us with some "Insight" -- Jonathan.

JONATHAN MANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Jim, that's entirely right.

You can draw a line in the sand, but ever try to draw a line in the water? The British say they were entirely outside Iranian territory, and they've released their map and their photographs to show where the border is, where the ships were. But when it comes to actually drawing the border, drawing a precise line through the Shatt al-Arab and into the Persian Gulf itself, the experts we've been talking to say you're in hot water.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) RICHARD SCHOFIELD, KING'S COLLEGE, LONDON: These things are less than crystal clear. The boundaries, the maritime boundaries in the northern waters of the Persian Gulf unclear, and they're confusing. And, you know, they trouble lots of people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANN: To start with, Iran and Iraq don't even agree on what to call the water. The name we use is Arabic. It means the Arab coast or the Arab shore. The Iranians, who are, of course, not Arabs, well, they call it something else, the Arvand Drud. But they don't fight over the name, they have fought over the water.

For Iraq, it's a lifeline to the outside world. The entire country's only outlet to the sea.

One of Saddam Hussein's reasons for going to war in 1980 against Iran was to gain control of the Shatt al-Arab. And even after the war, the two sides couldn't agree on who owned what.

It all goes back though a lot further than that. The way the British drew the border, Iran didn't control any of the water at all. A treaty imposed on Iran back when Britain actually ran that part of the world essentially ended Iranian territory.

See that line? 1937, the Iranians got as far as their shore. They didn't get any of the Shatt al-Arab. Instead, the Shatt-al-Arab was owned by Arabs, it was run by Arabs, and the Iranians have never forgotten it.

Decades later, the two sides did agree to move the border out. And they decided to choose the middle of the river's most navigable channel.

That's an old principle in shipping. It made sense. But Saddam Hussein tried to swing it back and forth according to his mood and his needs.

What no one can control though is that water moves, and so does what's under it. Accumulated silk (ph) has changed the course of that crucial middle channel which set the border, and the two sides once again don't really know where the channel is now or where the exact border line now sits.

The British map suggests the ships weren't in the Shatt, though, itself, they were just outside in the Persian Gulf. You saw that map earlier. You'll be seeing it a lot in the next few days. On it, the British government has drawn a nice clear line.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Another problem which is the dividing point between Iraqi territorial waters and Iranian territorial waters, and I think there's probably only a notional boundary, because to the best of my understanding, there's never been a legal agreement between the two countries to decide exactly where it is. (END VIDEO CLIP)

MANN: So, they've been waiting to come up with that legal agreement. They've been planning to redraw the border inside the Shatt al-Arab more carefully as well for a long time. But one revolution, three wars, and the fall of Saddam Hussein have gotten in the way. The least you can say is they've been busy -- Jim.

CLANCY: They've been busy. And I'm almost getting confused here.

When I look at this -- let's go full circle back to the beginning. What you're telling us is that just maybe the Iranians are right, maybe they were in Iranian water?

MANN: It almost looks like that, but the experts we spoke to say two things. They say, first of all, reasonable people would still say the line is broadly understood, even if you don't know exactly where it is. But they both pointed out the same single piece of evidence that convinces them that the Iranians really did know where they were and make a mistake.

Keep in mind, these were both British experts. We should make that point.

But they said the fact that the Iranians supplied one set of GPS coordinates, and then found out that those coordinates were still on the wrong side of the line and supplied a second set, they said that was evidence that the Iranians themselves, to their mind, were making things up as they went along.

CLANCY: All right. Important point.

Jonathan Mann, as always, some "Insight" into the story.

GORANI: All right. Well, the United States says it's an accident of timing, but it's not unhappy that a second aircraft carrier is in the Persian Gulf for war games, even as those tensions with Iran are rising, as we've been seeing. Tehran says it has no concerns about the exercises off its shores.

Jamie McIntyre has more from the Pentagon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A Navy FA-18 flies out of the sun and on to the deck of the USS Eisenhower, one of two U.S. aircraft carriers now conducting high- profile air warfare exercises right off the coast of Iran. The decision to dispatch a second aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf was made months ago, long before Iran's provocative capture of 15 British sailors and marines last week. But Pentagon sources tell CNN the decision to conduct the rare dual exercise with two carriers, 100 warplanes, and more than a dozen escort ships, was ordered just this week to make a show of resolve to Tehran. ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: They are watching what the United States and our coalition partners are doing, and will draw their own conclusions about the reliability of our word and the strength of our commitments.

MCINTYRE: While the Eisenhower and Stennis battle groups are practicing hunting submarines, sinking ships, and clearing mines, all things they would do in a war with Iran, the top U.S. commander for the region insists, with its hands full in Iraq, the U.S. is not spoiling for a fight.

ADM. WILLIAM FALLON, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: We're not interested in a war. We've got a conflict going here that we've got lots of folks tied up trying to fix.

MCINTYRE: But the American armada is aimed at reassuring other Gulf states the U.S. has the naval power to keep vital shipping lanes open. Jittery investors have already sent oil prices to a high for the year on fears that rising tensions could disrupt the 40 percent of the world's oil that flows through the Strait of Hormuz.

(on camera): This is the biggest assembly of American warships since 2003, when fire aircraft carriers were gathered in preparation for the invasion of Iraq. These exercises are set to last just a few days. After that, the gun boat diplomacy will be more diplomacy, less gun boat.

Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Coming up, the other battle of Baghdad.

GORANI: This time, the weapons are words.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: General Petraeus goes out there almost every day in an unarmed Humvee. I think you ought to catch up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: U.S. Senator John McCain gives and gets an earful on the subject of security in the Iraqi capital next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCCAIN: General Petraeus goes out there almost every day in an unarmed Humvee. I think you ought to catch up. You see, you are giving the old line of three months ago. I understand it. We certainly don't get it through the filter of some of the media.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Welcome back to CNN International and YOUR WORLD TODAY.

CLANCY: All right. That was a very famous appearance on our air here yesterday. U.S. Senator John McCain, the leading -- one of the leading Republican presidential candidates, there giving CNN's Wolf Blitzer an earful on the subject of security in Baghdad.

GORANI: Well, McCain's comments touched off a quick response from a number of journalists in Baghdad, including our own Michael Ware, who said, in fact, it is not safe for any westerner to leave the Green Zone unescorted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's unclear what part of Neverland that Senator McCain is talking about where Americans can stroll the streets of the capital, Baghdad. If al Qaeda doesn't get an American, if a Shia militia isn't tipped off, if the Sunni insurgents don't grab them, then a criminal gang will see dollar signs and take them immediately.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLANCY: All right. So there have you it. Two very different points of view.

Now, Michael Ware has been conr covering this war for four years or more. First with "TIME" magazine, now with CNN. McCain, of course, running for the presidency of the United States.

It brings up the issue of rhetoric versus reality, doesn't it? How much of what we hear about Iraq is really true, and who should we believe on the subject?

For more, we'll head back to Baghdad. Alissa Johannsen Rubin is a "New York Times" correspondent covering the war.

I'm sorry. Did I get your name wrong?

ALISSA JOHANSSEN RUBIN, "NEW YORK TIMES" CORRESPONDENT: No, that's fine.

CLANCY: OK.

Just tell us, as we start out here, what is the reality on the ground? I mean, there's a lot of people back at home that would like to say that, you know, the plan is working so well, you can go for a Sunday stroll, you know, in the heart of Baghdad.

True or false?

RUBIN: Well, I think it depends a lot who you are. I think an American could not go for a Sunday stroll. But neighborhoods do differ. And there are neighborhoods that are relatively calm and where you can walk around, and then there are others that are complete war zones and where you have, you know, children being caught in crossfire, you have people being executed, you have bombs going off, and that can be -- you know, all of those can happen in one day, in one fairly small area.

So it really depends where you are in Baghdad. There's not -- there's not a generalization you can make. And that's part of what makes it such a difficult place for anyone attempting to work or live here.

CLANCY: I mean, is it even conceivable that General Petraeus would go out in an unarmored Humvee and drive around Baghdad?

RUBIN: I have not traveled with General Petraeus, but I find that hard -- hard to believe, because the military are targets. They're targets of lots and lots of different groups. And if anyone is at risk, it's probably American soldiers.

American soldiers, and also Iraqi army and Iraqi police. Those are -- those are people who are constantly facing gunfire, IEDs, bombs. It's just part of everyday life for them.

CLANCY: Alissa, you know "The New York Times" is a target. Many people in the right wing say that "The New York Times" doesn't report the good news coming out of Baghdad, the schools that have reopened, you know, those kinds of stories.

Do you feel the pressure?

RUBIN: Well, certainly people would like to hear more good news, and we'd probably like to report a bit more good news, but what's difficult is that what's really critical is how many areas of Baghdad, how many areas of Iraq are quite chaotic. And normal life can't go on, normal economic -- no normal economic development can go on. People's lives are terribly hampered, certainly in Sunni areas of Baghdad.

I've just spent quite a bit of time in those neighborhoods. It's a very minimal existence. There's almost no services. There's enormous amounts of trash that people hide IEDs in.

It's a completely untenable situation for people to live and raise families. And as a result, there's an enormous number of people either who are trying to leave or who have left or are in the process of leaving, even if only to move to an area that's, you know, just their sect, be that -- be that Sunni or Shiite.

CLANCY: OK. Maybe we should just ask your for a bit of a report card since you've been out on the streets and seen a little bit of it.

How would you say this surge or whatever you want to call it, the renewed security operations in Baghdad, what effect do they have?

RUBIN: Well, I think it really -- again, I think it depends where you are. In Sadr City, for instance, it's much calmer than it was. And there's a great presence on the street of both Iraqi security forces and some of American. And I think you could say it does seem to have tamped down some of the activity.

But in other areas there was an initial tamp-down, and now some of the violence is creeping back. I saw that in Sunni areas last week, where the soldiers said, you know, we were very pleased the first few weeks of the surge, we saw fewer dead bodies, now we're beginning to see a few. Not like before, but still, it felt to them as if the insurgency had kind of adjusted to the increased number of troops.

But there is some effect in Baghdad. There has been less violence here. But there's still quite a lot. And there's a lot of violence outside of Baghdad, where there isn't a surge.

So I think what's important is to think about the totality. If we're just displacing violence from one part of the country to the other, that raises questions about whether this is a sustainable policy.

CLANCY: Alissa Johannsen Rubin, "New York Times" correspondent there in Baghdad.

Our thanks to you, Alissa.

Let's check some of the other stories that are making news right now.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Rob, we'll be keeping an eye on that, along with Fredricka Whitfield and me at the top of the hour for all of the day's top stories in the CNN NEWSROOM. Meantime, "Your World Today" continues after a quick break. I'm Don Lemon.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HALA GORANI, CNN ANCHOR: A warm welcome back, everyone, to all of our viewers joining us from more than 200 countries around the globe, including the United States this hour.

JIM CLANCY, CNN ANCHOR: You are tuned in to YOUR WORLD TODAY. I'm Jim Clancy.

GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani. And here are the top stories.

Iran's foreign minister says the female British sailor held captive in Iran will be released today or tomorrow. Faye Turney and 14 other British troops were seized last week after Iran says they entered its territorial waters. Now Britain is denying that and says satellite tracking data show that the troops were anchored 1.7 nautical miles inside Iraqi territory.

CLANCY: A somewhat bizarre hostage drama coming to a peaceful end in the Philippines. More than 30 preschool children are now safe. They were released after spending more than eight hours on their school bus. The hostage-taker said he wanted to call attention to the problems these children had with their education and housing in the Philippines.

GORANI: The leader of the opposition party in Zimbabwe has apparently been detained by government forces again. And that's the second time in a month. Morgan Tsvangirai and others were scheduled to hold a press conference at their headquarters in Harare Wednesday. Well, the building was surrounded by government forces earlier in the day and Tsvangirai hasn't been seen since. The government of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe is under increasing pressures as inflation sky rockets and . . .

CLANCY: We're going to break in here because we've got some videotape that's coming into us right now. And I want to bring this up and show it to you as we are getting it in. The Iranians are giving us our first pictures -- this is Iranian television.

There you see the Faye Turney, the royal sailor who was taken. Now these -- I don't know what this is. I apologize for going into their waters. It looks like she's, you know, signed off on a confession and they've got her. We had word that she was about to be released.

Now we're seeing, in this videotape, we are seeing what would appear to be the sailors in blue there, the royal marines in camouflage. There's Faye again.

GORANI: This is the video that the Iranians said they would eventually show of the 14 service members and one female. Faye Turney, you see her there with the head scarf on her head.

CLANCY: Yes, 15 in all. And, there, I want to draw (ph) that I am -- we're trying to read that but it's very hard to do. Obviously, she's communicating with her family. This looks like this videotape is cycled, Hala. It doesn't look like there's that much of it, but it's playing over and over again.

GORANI: And we understand this letter to family and friends. I'm being well looked after.

CLANCY: Well fed.

GORANI: I've had three meals a day. Look after everyone. That kind of thing.

All right. So we're going to be following this. New picture, obviously. And we see this is presumably in the Persian Gulf area there where the seizure occurred last week. And ever since those 15 British royal marines and sailors have been in Iranian custody and we're seeing the first pictures of them from Iranian television right now. Sharing them with you as they come to us.

CLANCY: The letter that we are seeing there, the one that we -- I think it will flash back up here in a moment. This letter was released by the British consulate or embassy. GORANI: "Please don't worry about me. I am staying strong." We see Faye Turney there smoking a cigarette on camera. These pictures broadcast on Iranian television. We're sharing them with you. These are fresh pictures for the first time for the world to see. As we try to read their fragments, bits and pieces of that letter that we believe Faye Turney to have written in her own hand.

CLANCY: Yes, we don't see all 15 of the royal sailors and marines. You know, I've seen about, what, seven of them. But one would assume that they would all be in that room, appearing very unconcerned. Obviously, eating a meal.

Obviously, we're also seeing the video of that letter containing an apology. Saying sorry we strayed into your waters or into Iranian waters. It is hard for me -- that it's not word for word in all of this. And showing the woman among those 15 who we are told is going to be released this day.

GORANI: In fact, we're going to -- in a few minutes -- not right away, but go to our Aneesh Raman. He's in Riyadh, where there is an Arab league summit happening and where the Iranian foreign minister has made statements about this female captive.

Now, the official Iranian news agency has said -- and this is coming out as well in the last few minutes -- that 15 British sailors were definitely arrested in its territorial waters. And this is something that Britain, that London, the ministry of defense there is denying, saying it has proof that, in fact, these British sailors and marines were in Iraqi territorial waters when they were seized by the revolutionary guards.

CLANCY: All right. Now, here's the text of the letter. And I've got it now.

"Dear mum and dad, I'm writing to you from Iran where I am being held. I will try to explain to you the best what has happened. We were out in the boats and we were arrested by Iranian forces, as we apparently gone into Iranian waters. I wish we hadn't because then I'd be home with you right now. I am so sorry we did because I know we wouldn't be here now if we hadn't.

I want you all to know that I am well and safe. I'm being well looked after. I'm fed three meals a day and I have a constant supply of fluids. The people are friendly and hospitable, very compassionate and warm. I've written a letter to the Iranian people to apologize for us entering into their waters.

Please don't worry about me. I'm staying strong. Hopefully it won't be long until I'm home to get ready for Molly's birthday party with a present from Iranian people. Look after everyone for me, especially Adam and Molly. I love you all more than you will ever know. All my love, Faye."

That is the contents.

GORANI: She has a small daughter. I don't know if Molly perhaps is the name of the three-year-old she has with her husband, who's also in the navy.

CLANCY: You hear -- in this letter you hear her repeatedly saying, I know we wouldn't be here if we hadn't strayed into the waters. This is the kind of stuff that you write when you're taken captive. And all of the experts tell you, write whatever it is that they want you to write. Write whatever you think will get you out sooner rather than later.

There's no point in trying to be a hero in this stuff and nobody believes it. You know, you write it under duress. You do what you have to, to get out of it. And I think what these royal marines and sailors are doing right now is just displaying a lot of cool, Hala.

GORANI: Now, you just read the letter. We're seeing portions of that letter there filmed on Iranian television. This is Al-Alam. This is an Arabian language Iranian state-run television. And in this footage, according to reports now, we don't have the audio on this right now, but Faye Turney, the young lady you just saw there with the head scarf on, said obviously we trespassed. This is according to the Associated Press and to audio that we have not heard yet that accompanies this video footage.

She says my name is Leading Sailman Faye Turney. I come from England. I have served in Fox Trot '99. I've been in the navy for nine years. So she's just going through her I.D. there, just detailing her name, her rank, how long she's served in the navy for. And you see them eating there. And they do seem like they're in OK shape.

CLANCY: Yes, they're in great shape, it looks like.

And I want to bring in Aneesh Raman now. Aneesh is in Riyadh. He's been covering the Arab summit that's going on there dealing with the Israeli/Palestinian problem. But the Iranians also on the sidelines there.

Aneesh, you're just out of Tehran. You were there. What are we hearing from there about this hostage drama, capture drama that's playing out on our TV screens right now. First ever pictures that we have of these young royal marines and sailors.

Aneesh.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jim, the thing that strikes me most about this video that we're watching now is how it compares to what we saw back in June 2004. At that time, in a similar incident, British military personnel had been seized by Iran. They were held for three days, during which they were broadcast in captivity blindfolded. It was a much different look than what we're seeing here with them eating, in somewhat good shape as far as what we can tell from the video.

The second point is the fact that this was broadcast on Al-Alam. This is a state-run channel that is Arabic language. It is not seen widely within the Islamic republic. When the news first happened about this incident on Friday, in fact, Al-Alam was the first station to really report on it. The IRID, the state-run news channel, took a number of hours before it was even mentioned in the news headlines. So it would seem that this is an image more important to the Iranians to show the rest of the world than to show their own people.

And, as you mentioned, the letter that shows a confession, if you will, by the female sailor at least, that they had crossed into Iranian waters. At the time, in 2004, Iran said that all of them had confessed. After they left, they disputed that. It could be that we'll hear the same thing from this female sailor as she leaves.

Iran, in terms of what we understand, will release soon that female sailor that you see on your screens now. I spoke a short time earlier with the Iranian foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki. He told me her release would happen, "very soon." Earlier in the day, he had a meeting with the Turkish prime minister, after which he suggested the release could come today, perhaps tomorrow.

Now what do we look into this release? The sense I get is it's more about the political and cultural sensitivities within Iran. That a female was being held captive among the 15.

What that forecasts for the fate of the 14 others, of course, is the big question that the British government will be demanding. They've maintain that their personnel were in Iraqi, not Iranian water. They have put forth evidence this morning. But Iran will say it has evidence, not just this letter, which will be suspect to the British officials because of how it was obtained, but other evidence, they say they have that shows that the British personnel were actually in Iranian waters.

The Iranians, it would seem at the moment, are less concerned with what the world thinks of this situation, as they are with the domestic, political situation. A lot has changed since that 2004 incident. Of course, Iran has just been slapped with another round of sanctions. Five Iranians remain in coalition custody within Iraq.

That has prompted an increasing number of hard-liners within Iran to call for a trial of these British military personnel, to see them charged with espionage. So it would seem, if nothing else, a thorough investigation for the sake of the political dynamic within Iran will take place. It is still up in the air as to whether any trial will happen. The government yet to comment on that.

Jim.

GORANI: And, Aneesh, this is Hala.

Is the fact that Faye Turney might be released in the next day or two an indicator as to what might happen to the other captives? It doesn't seem like it. Is it just because she's female?

RAMAN: I think so. In short, yes. I don't think it indicates really anything in terms of the 14 others. If you look at it in terms of the territorial dispute, if she's being released but in that letter that we've seen admits to crossing into Iranian waters, the immediate question is, well why aren't the other 14 being released? They're being held for the same charge. So that basically suggests this is about gender because of the cultural sensitivities within the Islamic republic about having a female prisoner. And so I don't think we can judge anything at this moment in terms of what the fate is for the 14 others.

Hala.

GORANI: Now tell me what goes through your mind when you see these images of these sailors and these royal marines? What is the point of airing this now? And what is the point of showing them eating? Why is this all significant essentially?

RAMAN: Yes, first in terms of why now. Iran, of course, has been facing increased pressure, not just from the British government, but from other governments in neighboring countries to get access to these British military personnel that had been by early this week held longer than those in 2004. The British have been told by Iranians, look, you'll get to see them after our interrogation is complete.

The Turkish prime minister this morning suggested Turkish officials might be able to see the British military personnel. But again, it was assumed that would happen after this investigation is done.

These images, it seems, are an attempt by Iran to show the condition of these military personnel on Iranian terms with Iranian individual rather -- in essence, to go around the demands by the British government to see them firsthand. It likely won't appease the British government. They will still continue to say they want immediate access, if not the immediate safe return. But in terms of the timing, it seems a result of the pressure that Iran has been feeling.

CLANCY: Aneesh, it's Jim again.

And I want to remind our viewers, these are the first pictures that we have coming in, showing at least some of the group of royal marines and sailors, the 15 that were taken, including Faye Turney, who we are told is going to be released today. And a letter there from Turney.

But I want to go back. You know, we have been talking about the five Iranians that are in U.S. military custody in Iraq. This group of sailors and marines were taken by the revolutionary guards. The same people, by the way, that have worked for decades training Hezbollah.

There was a war in Lebanon last summer. What was it triggered by? Hostage taking. In that case, the Iranian-backed Hezbollah went across the border into Israel and kidnapped Israeli soldiers, took them back across the border, killing many others. That, you know, started a war here. There is a pattern with Hezbollah. Some of its -- if people look back far enough, it conducted a terror attack in Kuwait and 13 or more of its members of Hezbollah were taken into custody, tried, put in prison in Kuwait. And what did that spark? It sparked the whole mid- 1980s hostage taking in Beirut, Lebanon, Terry Anderson and all the rest spending five, six, seven years inside jails.

And is this a pattern, because it is the revolutionary guards, to take hostages like this?

RAMAN: Yes, well it's a critically important point, the fact that the British military personnel were taken by the revolutionary guard and not by the Iranian navy. The revolutionary guard does not report to the central government. It is autonomous at some level. Its leadership is appointed by the country's supreme leader Khamenei. But a lot of the operations they do are conducted on their own.

In terms of the broader picture though, it was interesting, one of the hard-liners within Iran, the quote that came out in the immediate days after this incident took place, was that Iran does not see a difference among the members of the coalition. It would seem that they were underling the point that they see the British in the same light that they see the Americans. And that is what caused speculation that there was perhaps some link to the five Iranians that are being held within Iraq.

In terms of a broader pattern, I think that, you know, it's a very difficult thing to gauge within Iran. It is not a monolithic power structure. It is a varied (ph) power structure. You have the revolutionary guard. You also have the government within the government. You have hard-liners, reformists. All of them, at some level, are competing for public opinion.

And given the global dynamic, given the pressure that Iran has been facing, not just on the nuclear front, but over alleged actions within Iraq, it seems that the revolutionary guard has sort of lashed back at some level, trying to reassert Iran as a force that needs to be dealt with, with respect. So, again, the link that is being seen by some in terms of the five Iranians that are being held in Iraq, came out of that specific quote, that they see the coalition as all in the same.

At the same time, of course, it's unclear at the moment what happened exactly in that Shatt al-Arab waterway, in what the Iranians called Arvandrud. Whether it was something that was deliberately done in terms of timing or action or whether it was something that just happened at the spur of the moment. And in terms of finding out the answer to that, it could come not soon, Jim.

CLANCY: Faye Turney, we're looking at her picture right now. And I'm wondering, what are you hearing there about her release?

RAMAN: Yes, earlier, as I mentioned, I spoke to the foreign minister. He confirmed that her release would come, "very soon." And he had spoken earlier giving a time line after meeting with the Turkish prime minister to the Turkish press. He told them he expected the release to come today, perhaps tomorrow.

The timing in terms of the release of this video, her clearly being the focal point, a letter being a focal point suggests again, it underscores what we have come to know from the foreign minister, that perhaps this release is imminent and that Iran is trying to push back against calls by the British government to know about the condition of their military personnel. Iran sort of playing its card by show the video, which is, of course, done under Iranian control. The British maintain that they want to firsthand see these military personnel.

GORANI: Just to recap for viewers joining us just now.

Iranian state television, this is Al-Alam television. An Arabic language Iranian state-run television, airing the first pictures of those 15 British royal marines and sailors who were captured in what the Iranians say were Iranian territorial water, the Brits say were Iraqi territorial waters. This happened last Friday. We're hearing that in the next day or two the female captive, Faye Turney, who you see there on your television, will be released.

Our Aneesh Raman is covering the Arab league summit in Riyadh, where he was able to speak with some Iranian officials and hearing potentially that Faye Turney will be released in the next 24 to 48 hours.

Aneesh, you were in Iran just a few days ago. How is this playing out in that country?

RAMAN: Well, it's interesting. As I mentioned, on state-run television, the news really didn't come until hours after this incident last Friday, which keeps in line with the fact that this video is first going out on Al-Alam.

Among the Iranian people, look, there's one concern that trumps anything else, which is economic reform that want at home. When you ask them about anything else, it seems to always come back to that.

We did see some demonstrations by Iranian students in the immediate aftermath of this incident. They were calling -- and they were hard-liners -- for an immediate trial of the British military personnel, to see them charged with espionage. It didn't strike me as any sort of broader sentiment within the Iranian public.

That said, of course, this is out of their hands. This is something that their government is dealing with and they can only sort of suggest what they think should happen down the line. But the cultural sensitivities definitely did exist. That there was a woman sailor among those who were being held.

There were some questions about how she was being treated. And Iran, from the start, was keen to say it was being done in an ethical manner. And that would seem to underline as well why we're seeing her get released, again according to Iran's foreign minister, within the next day or two.

CLANCY: Aneesh Raman reporting to us there live in Riyadh. He's just come out of Tehran.

And I think it's important to point out here that Britain's government has already reacted to this videotape that has been released on Iranian television. Britain's government describing the pictures of the captured crew there as "completely unacceptable." Completely unacceptable, the response from the British government. And according, you know, of course, to the Red Cross, it is not allowed to parade your hostages or your prisoners on camera. They're supposed to get a visit, instead, from the Red Cross and perhaps from diplomats.

GORANI: All right. Well, our Aneesh Raman, we thank him, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for his coverage and his analysis on this development in the story of those 15 seized British royal marines and sailors. We'll continue to follow the reaction, really, to this video footage and these pictures. And as Jim just said, completely unacceptable are the two words that have come out so far from London.

CLANCY: You know, and we have to wonder in all of this how the families have reacted. Earlier we spoke with our own Alphonso van Marsh, who was covering that from the seaport where these sailors and royal marines hail from.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALPHONSO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here in Plymouth, that, of course, is the home of the Davenport-based HMS Cornwall. That is the ship that those 15 service members are serving on prior to their capture and being held in Iran. There's plenty of anxiety in this community that supports those service member, anxiety they say because of a lack of information on the status of those 15 service members.

For people living in this community, it is reminiscent of the 2004 capture of British service members. And in that instance, those service members were paraded on Iranian television, much to the anger of British officials here.

When you take a look at the British local press, we have headlines like "Our Hearts Are With You." The "Herald" showing the picture of 26-year-old Faye Turney. That, of course, is the royal navy wren, or female sailor, one of the 15 service members being held in Tehran.

I've talked to one dock worker who says imagine as this crisis continues on, the psychological impact it's having, not just on those 15 service members, but on this community as well. I also spoke with the bishop of Plymouth who says that he's getting increased requests for prayers. Prayers that these service members return home soon.

I also spoke with one woman who's been married to a military officer for more than 30 years here in Plymouth. She says, while she believe that British troops shouldn't be involved in the war in Iraq in the first place, now that they're there, she says, they deserve better protection and she hopes that these service members return home soon.

Alphonso van Marsh, CNN, Plymouth, England.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: All right, there's a reaction from the families. And as we've been telling you, the dramatic video has been released on television. The first glimpse really of those 15 British sailors and marines. You're looking at it now. We don't see, Hala, the whole 15, do we?

GORANI: No, we don't. We see about five or six of them and we see Faye Turney and we're getting word from Iranian officials that she is scheduled for release in the next 24 to 48 hours. But that is not an indicator, according to our Aneesh Raman who's been covering this story and others, as to the fate of the other 14 who are still in Iranian custody and may face trial, prosecution within Iran.

CLANCY: Yes, the Iranians came out very early and said they didn't want to swap these people. Of course, there's obvious speculation that that's why they were taken, for an exchange for five Iranians that are being held by the American military in Iraq.

We've got an early reaction from the British government, the foreign office condemning this broadcast of this videotape on Iranian television, saying it is, and I'm quoting here, "completely unacceptable."

GORANI: Short but to the point. That's the reaction from London.

CLANCY: Now, this videotape -- and this is what we're getting. This is the Iranian videotape. It would appear to show those royal marines in their boats, you know, navigating there. But, you know, very important, you see the Iranian flag on their boat. Obviously, the Iranians had switched that out. They had just finished a boarding operation on a tanker.

GORANI: Yes. And shortly therefore, or during that time period, that time frame, that is when they were seized by, we understand, the revolutionary guards in that body of water. Iran saying they were in our territory. Britain saying, absolutely not, and we have proof. They were actually in Iraqi territorial waters and they had every right to be there. So two very different versions of what happened last Friday.

CLANCY: All right. There is the pictures of Faye Turney. And everybody's wondering now, where will the negotiations taken Britain and Iran at this point and when will all of those young men and that young woman be freed (ph).

GORANI: We've got the leave it there. Stay with CNN. A lot more ahead.

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