Iran lies, what else is new?

Cross posted from Right Truth

According to reports this morning, some Iranians are calling for the execution of the 15 British sailors, including the woman Faye Turney. Yesterday Iran let the world believe she would be released today, after her 'confession' via video and letter to her family. Seems they have changed their mind today. Reuters is reporting her release has been "suspended".

Tony Blair has asked for a condemnation from the United Nations, an official statement denouncing Iran's actions since the crew were working under a UN mandate in the Gulf. I'm sure Iran is shaking in their boots over that one, from laughing, not from fear. (BBC)

The UK has the released GPS evidence, which plainly shows the sailors were in Iraqi waters. Tony Blair is saying the UK is not seeking a confrontation, but the footage of Faye Turney and the others on Iranian TV was wrong in terms of "basic humanity".

Oil prices are up as the world is in a wait-and-see mode. What will the Brits do, what will Iran do, will the United States back Tony Blair if he decides to take action ... One report says brent crude was off 30 cents at $65.48, while US light, sweet crude oil was trading at $63.64, down 44 cents.'

Oil prices jumped by 8% to $68 a barrel - a six-month high - on Tuesday, on speculation that the West and Iran would come to blows militarily - something which was swiftly denied by the US.

So far, there has been no disruption to Iran's daily shipments of around 2.2 million barrels. (BBC)

Is this an act of war as some are saying?

... needs to be seen as another blatant “act of war” against the United States. This time, the mullahs’ target was the United Kingdom, America’s closest ally in the war against terrorism. This was a calculated act by Iran...

This is the same tactic Hezbollah and Hamas, acting under the guidance of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, have used against Israel for years to obtain the release of terrorists. The question is: What are we going to do about it? (Peace and Freedom)

Does Iran believe we, the West, are incapable of responding to their aggression? Peace and Freedom reminds us of November 1979:

I recommended to the then-acting chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Tom Hayward, that our only good option really was to capture Kharg Island, Iran’s principal oil export depot. If we did this, we could negotiate from a position of strength for the immediate return of our embassy and our diplomats. Unfortunately, the Carter administration rejected any offensive operations as a means of responding to this blatant act of war against the United States. We were humiliated and seemed to the world to lack the courage to defend our honor. [snip]

the Joint Chiefs of Staff need to develop or refine a series of military options that can be immediately carried out when directed by the commander in chief, President Bush after coordination with Prime Minister Tony Blair.

One such option should be the capture of Kharg Island. That could be viewed as part of a larger economic sanction that the U.N. Security Council has already endorsed. It is not an attack against the Iranian people. In fact, it could further encourage the popular antigovernment movement against the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s corrupt and already shaky regime. The economic cost to Iran would be catastrophic at minimum.

Most of all, such a move would end almost 30 years of our Iranian appeasement policy, demonstrating to Tehran we finally mean business.

--James A. Lyons Jr., U.S. Navy retired admiral, is a former commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet and senior U.S. military representative to the United Nations.

The Jerusalem Post is reporting Iran's top negotiator Ali Larjani said that "British leaders have miscalculated this issue." Also this interesting tidbit, ' the Iranian consul in Basra alleged that British soldiers had surrounded his office in the southern city and fired shots into the air.'

Britain denied the report. [snip]

Iranian Consul-General Mohammed Ridha Nasir Baghban said British forces had engaged in a "provocative act" that "could worsen the situation of the British sailors."

Hat tip, The Gentile Warrior, Tony Blair, Listen Up, who says, "it's time to play hardball the Islamist way." What's Tony Blair doing? Freezing relations with Iran.