Brits resume patrols in Persian Gulf with US Navy

Independent:

Seven months after the Royal Navy suffered one of the most humiliating episodes in its history when 15 sailors and Royal Marines were detained by Iranian forces, British patrols have resumed close to the Iranian border.

But now the team is permanently flanked by heavily armoured US Navy gunboats and shadowed by a helicopter. Despite the Royal Navy's insistence that the capture on 23 March was about "judgement not kit", the "soft hat" stance of which the British are so proud has been tempered with beefed-up force protection.

The head of UK maritime operations in the Gulf, Commodore Keith Winstanley, says that if the Iranians try it again "the result would be different".

Commodore Winstanley said: "Not surprisingly, there has been a complete overhaul of procedures, training and equipment,"

At a time of continued tension and talk of a third round of UN sanctions against Iran, both sides still watch each other over the disputed water border. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) in their fast skiffs repeatedly dip into Iraqi waters to taunt the warships protecting the two vital oil platforms on which the country's fragile economy depend. They are also sending up a small observation plane to skirt the border line daily.

For the first time in 30 years, discussions have begun between the Iranians and Iraqis to establish an agreed border but neither side is yet giving any quarter. British boarding patrols close to the buffer zone ceased almost six months ago.

But last month the team, which patrols in rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIBS), armed with SA80 rifles and side arms, resumed patrols in the more precarious shallow waters. This time, shadowed by two 34ft American gunboats, armed with four 50-calibre heavy machine guns, which are permanently manned, four medium machine guns and their M16 rifles.

The helicopter cover, on duty elsewhere the day the Iraqis surrounded the HMS Cornwall team, stays with them throughout their patrols. The air support, in the understated terms of pilot Lt-Cdr Phil Beacham, encourages the Iranians to be "much less vigorous".

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Hopefully they have learned a lesson and will have a more robust defense if they are challenged again. Perhaps they should get some Aussies on board to supplement their effort with some insults directed at the Iranians. They need to have a Dirty Harry attitude. "Go ahead punk, make my day." It does appear that the US support boats have the firepower to mess up an Iranian patrol boat.