Iran s Seizure of U.K. Sailors Heightens Risks (Update2) quarters in the Persian Gulf, the Iranian and U.
S. navies have Iran s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The Guard, which operates with a chain of command separate from Iran s regular navy, sparked an international crisis by seizing 15 British sailors and marines on March 23.
As the U.S. 2003, the Guard s unpredictable behavior in those waters already tense international standoff.
The Guard -- the radical force that the U.S. says is supplying weapons to Shiite insurgents in Iraq, and that calls at the Brookings Institution in Washington.
Historically, Guard commanders and crews have been the ``most obnoxious, sailing directly at U.S. ships in high- stakes games of ``chicken, Pollack said.
active in the Persian Gulf, from its northern reaches where the British sailors were seized to the Strait of Hormuz. That s near with the U.S.
guided-missile cruiser Vincennes the day it shot down an Iranian airliner, killing all 290 people onboard.
covering contact with U.S.
and U.K. forces -- so-called rules of engagement -- that could help defuse potential conflicts.
in an incident in quite some time. But the rules of engagement for the IRGC are clearly very aggressive, said U.S.
Representative Mark Kirk, an Illinois Republican.
Kirk is also a U.S.
Navy Reserve intelligence officer who has served in the Persian Gulf area. He is backing a measure in restrict gasoline imports to Iran. The UN last month passed a sanctions.
militaries are allowed to use force, for example to defend against an unprovoked attack. In areas where there s greater danger of a hostile act, U.S.
rules are usually classified. ``We don t discuss rules of engagement, period, said Navy Commander Kevin Aandahl, a spokesman for the U.S.
Fifth Fleet.
Britain s first sea lord, Admiral Sir Alan West, said on escalatory because we don t want wars starting, the British newspaper The Independent reported.
U.
S. forces may have more leeway because of a 1987 incident Stark as the frigate patrolled Gulf waters. Iraq, at war with Iran at the time, said it was a case of mistaken identity.
authority to protect themselves in the Gulf. ``It was emphasized and people, the Pentagon wrote in its formal report on the Vincennes incident.
of a U.
S. vessel in the Gulf said that in contrast to the Royal Navy, his sailors would have fired on the Iranian Revolutionary Guard if they d been seized as the 15 British mariners were.
``I don t want to second-guess the British after the fact, but our rules of engagement allow a little more latitude, U.
S. Navy Lieutenant Commander Erik Horner, executive officer of the guided-missile frigate USS Underwood, told the Independent. ``The unique U.
S. Navy rules of engagement say we not only have defense.
The top U.
S. military official in the region says the U.S.
isn t out to pick a fight. ``We have no intention of perpetrating any kind of incidents, Admiral William Fallon, commander of U.S.
forces in the Middle East, said in a March 16 interview. ``We are not interested in a conflict.
Meanwhile, the seizure of the British sailors by the their rules of engagement.
Royal Navy were to fire at if fired upon, Kirk said in an interview. ``My guess is that now the new rules for the British may be that you may use force to prevent your seizure.
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