US offered to scare Iran: report

Ohhhhhhhh I just bet you did Georgie, Blair spoil your thrills, Hmmmm?

US offered aggressive air patrols over Iranian bases

Britain knocked back offer, asked for calm approach

THE US offered to mount aggressive air patrols over Iranian bases during the country's stand-off with Britain, UK media reported today.

Citing unnamed diplomatic sources, The Guardian newspaper said Pentagon officials offered a series of military options that Britain rejected.

Britain reportedly told the US to keep out of the affair and instead tone down armed forces activity in the Gulf region.

One of the options involved combat aircraft patrolling over Iranian bases to show how serious the incident was, the newspaper said in a front page story.

On March 20, three days before the 15 British marines were seized at gunpoint in the Gulf, a second US aircraft carrier group arrived in the region.

At Britain's request, the two carrier groups, totalling 40 ships plus aircraft, changed their exercises to make them appear less confrontational, the newspaper said.

Britain also asked the US to ensure it kept the rhetoric low-key, The Guardian said.

It reported a consensus was emerging among British, Iraqi and Iranian officials that Iran had not planned to seize the sailors.

"My best guess is that this was a local incident which became an international incident," a British source told the newspaper.

"If this had been between Iranian and American soldiers, it could have been the beginning of an accidental war," said a senior Iranian source.

The source claimed British forces had illegally entered Iranian waters three times in three months before the capture, which was decided upon by a regional commander.

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