Who Wanted a Stand-Off?

I've been wondering who in Iran gave the green light to the capture of the 15 British military personnel in the Persian Gulf. It looks like both Conservative circles in Britain and the editor of an Iranian oppostion newspaper blame Revolutionary Guard. There's also a suggestion that they were taken as a response to the American detention of Iranian consulate personnel in Irbil shortly after President Bush's speech in January.

The IRGC chain of command goes up to Ayatollah Khamene'i, not President Ahmadinejad.

UPDATE: Reuters offers this:

"'It appears there is no decision on (how to handle) this issue,' said one Iranian analyst pointing to the relatively subdued coverage in Iran's media so far.

"A diplomat echoed this view, saying hard-line news sources were making the most noise. Both the analyst and diplomat said the incident may have taken the authorities by surprise and did not appear pre-planned, so there was a debate about next steps."

(Crossposted to American Footprints)