Opinion (Julian Borger and Ian Black): Sailors fall foul of emerging regional superpower

The 15 British sailors and marines seized by the Iranian navy yesterday appear to have been well inside Iraqi waters, but they had the ill-fortune to stray into the path of the region's aspiring superpower as it flexes new-found muscles.

Wherever Britain and its American allies turn these days in the Middle East, they are bumping into the new realities of Iran's spreading influence.

Today, the United Nations security council is due to vote in New York on new sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear programme, but there is no sign the Iranians will bow to international pressure and surrender the right to enrich uranium.

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