[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 136 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 136

   Expressing the sense of the Senate condemning the seizure by the 
 Government of Iran of 15 British naval personnel in Iraqi territorial 
   waters, and calling for their immediate, safe, and unconditional 
                                release.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 29, 2007

 Mr. Coleman (for himself, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. DeMint, Mr. Biden, Mr. 
  Brownback, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Ensign, Mr. 
Graham, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. Casey, Mr. Dodd, Mrs. Clinton, 
    Mrs. Dole, Mr. Vitter, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Martinez, Mr. Nelson of 
   Florida, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Voinovich, and Mr. Smith) submitted the 
        following resolution; which was considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Expressing the sense of the Senate condemning the seizure by the 
 Government of Iran of 15 British naval personnel in Iraqi territorial 
   waters, and calling for their immediate, safe, and unconditional 
                                release.

Whereas, on March 23, 2007, a naval vessel of the United Kingdom, the HMS 
        Cornwall, was conducting routine operations in Iraqi territorial waters 
        pursuant to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1723 (2006) and 
        in support of the Government of Iraq;
Whereas, on March 23, 2007, a boarding team consisting of 7 Royal Marines and 8 
        sailors embarked in 2 of the boats of the HMS Cornwall to conduct a 
        routine boarding of an Indian flagged merchant vessel pursuant to the 
        authorization of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1723 (2006);
Whereas, as Vice Admiral Charles Style, Deputy Chief of the British Defense 
        Staff (Commitments), demonstrated in a presentation on March 28, 2007, 
        ``the merchant vessel was 7.5 nautical miles south east of the Al Faw 
        Peninsula, . . . 29 degrees 50.36 minutes North 048 degrees 43.08 
        minutes East. This places her 1.7 nautical miles inside Iraqi 
        territorial waters. This fact has been confirmed by the Iraqi Foreign 
        Ministry.'';
Whereas at some point shortly after completion of the successful inspection of 
        the merchant ship, the two United Kingdom vessels were surrounded and 
        escorted by Iranian Islamic Republican Guard Navy vessels toward the 
        Shatt `Al Arab Waterway and into Iranian territorial waters;
Whereas, as Margaret Beckett, the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom, 
        stated to the House of Commons on March 28, 2007, even the coordinates 
        of the seizure event that were given by Iran's Ambassador to the United 
        Kingdom at the Ambassador's first meeting with United Kingdom officials 
        were themselves in Iraqi waters;
Whereas Foreign Secretary Beckett noted in that same statement that authorities 
        of the Government of Iran provided ``corrected'' coordinates of the 
        incident on March 25, 2007, claiming that the event took place in 
        Iranian waters;
Whereas the merchant vessel that was boarded had remained anchored since the 
        time it was boarded, and on March 25, 2007, its location was verified to 
        be in Iraqi waters;
Whereas Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair stated on March 25, 
        2007, that ``there is no doubt at all that these people were taken from 
        a boat in Iraqi waters. It is simply not true that they went into 
        Iranian territorial waters.''; and
Whereas the Government of Iran has yet to release the 15 British sailors it has 
        been holding captive since seizing the sailors from Iraqi waters on 
        March 23, 2007: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) condemns in the strongest possible terms the seizure by 
        the Government of Iran of 15 British naval personnel from Iraqi 
        territorial waters as a provocative and illegal act; and
            (2) calls for the immediate, safe, and unconditional 
        release of the personnel from captivity.
                                 <all>