http://www.juancole.com/2008/01/us-video-of-iran-speedboats-flawed.html
Friday, January 11, 2008 Informed Comment
US Video of Iran Speedboats Flawed Iranians Charge Fabrication
The Bush administration's assertion that 5 small Iranian boats
confronted big, well-armed US ships in the Straits of Hormuz and
threatened to blow up the American vessels is looking more and more
like a serious error if not a Republican Party fabrication.
The Iranians analyzed the Pentagon video released to the US media and
found that the audio track was not synchronized properly with the
video, pointing to serious tinkering.
And sure enough, we now know that the tape is a fabrication in the
sense that the Pentagon says the video and the audio were recorded
separately and then combined. And they can't even be sure where the
audio came from! The NYT reports,
<snip>
The Iranian Revolutionary Guards issued their own video and audio of
the encounter, which shows a routine identity check (see below).
Hamshahri reports in Persian that Sayyid Mahmoud Jazayeri said that
questioning passing ships is a completely routine activity for the
Iranian speedboats. Jazayeri accused Washington of attempting to paper
over its serious defeats in the Middle East with this gimmick.
The USG Open Source Center translates some of the transcript below.
[EMBED]
"Iran TV Says BBC, CNN Complicit in 'Falsity' of US Footage
Vision of the Islamic Republic of Iran Network 1
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Document Type: OSC Translated Text
The navy of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps aired a clip of the
Hormuz Strait incident, which proves the falsity of the claims by
American officials. In pictures aired today, the Iranian vessel only
asks a few questions from the American one. The American vessel
responds to the questions by Iran and this is a routine matter in
the activities of the patrol units in maritime territory.
(Iranian patrol in English) Coalition warship seven, three. This is
Iranian navy patrol boat Tatone - 16. Navy warship, navy warship
seven, three. This is Iranian navy patrol boat Tatone - 16. Come in,
over.
(US navy officer over radio, in English) This is Coalition Warship
seven three. Roger, over.
(IRGC officer, English) Coalition warship seven three. This is
Iranian navy patrol boat Tantoma - 16. Over.
(Passage indistinct)
(Presenter) CNN had aired a clip in which the Iranians had
surrounded the American vessel threatening that in a few minutes
time you will explode. The CNN and BBC networks aired Iranian
footage today but without the sound.
The Iranian deputy admiral of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps
said that the claims of the American officials on threats against
the American warships are totally false, because in the main reel
the military number of the Iranian person (on his uniform) speaking
is shown quite clearly.
Admiral Fadavi added that the conversation between Iranian vessels
and other passing vessels is perfectly normal, which happens over
and over again.
(Iranian TV aired parts of the video with Farsi caption on English
conversations)
(Description of Source: Tehran Vision of the Islamic Republic of
Iran Network 1 in Persian -- state-run television). "
The Iranian press is suspicious about the timing of the Pentagon
videotape, noting that it was released just as Bush was heading to the
Middle East to try to convince the Arab allies of the US to make common
cause with Israel against Iran. The Gulf monarchies in particular are
very afraid of the Iranian navy, and the Bush administration video
would have been useful for pushing the Kuwaitis, the United Arab
Emirates, and Saudi Arabia into agreeing with the Bush grand strategy
of surrounding Iran and then cutting it off.
posted by Juan Cole @ 1/11/2008 06:30:00 AM