The sailors had been detained aboard two US Navy patrol boats in the Gulf on Tuesday. The sailors later were transferred ashore by U.S. Navy aircraft, the news release said, and other sailors took charge of boats and continued transiting toward Bahrain. What’s clear is that while the Iranians apparently were careful not to hurt the sailors, they knew precisely what to do to humiliate them-and the nation they represent.
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The U.S. has modestly expanded sanctions on Hezbollah, but hasn’t followed through on pledges to impose penalties after a recent ballistic missile test by Iran that violated a U.N. Security Council ban.
No doubt Cruz believes it was his prayers rather than the discussion between Kerry and Iran Foreign Minister Mohamed Javad Zarif that quickly got the sailors back into USA hands unharmed.
But last night, while the process was being worked out and the sailors were still being held by Iran, Rep. Louie Gohmert appeared on Dana Loesch’s television and delivered a predictably Gohmertian response to the situation by declaring that the United States should put our armed forces on high alert and inform Iran that we will begin destroying its naval fleet if the sailors are not immediately released.
Asked by reporters if she was troubled by the sailors’ treatment by Iran, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday that she hadn’t seen videos of the incident.
Politicians who are against dealing with Iran accused the administration of hastily assessing that the sailors had been treated well. “How many American service members does Iran would have to capture?”
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden says that America did not apologize to Iran over U.S. sailors allegedly entering Iranian territorial waters. The White House said the bill could cause “the collapse” of the agreement and that the president will reject the legislation if it ever reaches his desk.
The secretary of state is trying to “de-escalate the tensions, restore some sense of calm, encourage dialogue and engagement between these countries bilaterally, but also to make the point that there are other pressing issues in the region”, State Department spokesman John Kirby said.
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter thanked Kerry after the sailors’ release and couched the incident in humanitarian terms, noting that “the U.S. Navy routinely provides assistance to foreign sailors in distress”.
The sailors left the island at 0843 GMT (3:43 a.m. EST) Wednesday aboard their boats, the Navy said. Navigation problems, due either to human or mechanical failure, could not be ruled out, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss details of the incident and so spoke on condition of anonymity.
Iranian media released video of what it said was an American sailor speaking from detention following an incident in the Persian Gulf, Jan. 12, 2016.more +.
The U.S. military says that 10 sailors briefly held by Iran are back in American care and “there are no indications that the sailors were harmed”.
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A carefully worded statement did not explain how the sailors and their two riverine command boats ended up being detained by Iran, saying only that “the Navy will investigate the circumstances that led to the sailors’ presence in Iran”.
