US Patrol Boats Apprehended in Iranian Waters

Warrigal

Warrigal

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Location
Sydney, Australia
A breaking story about two small US boats that apparently drifted into Iranian waters and the crews and boats are now in Iranian custody. The Iranians have announced that the crews will be returned promptly but have said nothing about the boats.

I've read various versions about what happened but none make a lot of sense. One suggested the boats had "mistakenly strayed" into Iranian waters.
http://www.ibtimes.com/iran-us-navy...itary-holds-10-american-sailors-irans-2262162

Another says that one of the boats had "mechanical trouble" and both boats had "run aground".
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/wor...fter-getting-into-trouble-in-the-persian-gulf

Neither the US nor Iran have signed/ratified an UN convention on "innocent passage".

Based on the facts currently available, it appears that the question of whether the Iranians responded proportionately will depend on if the U.S. Navy vessels were operating in Iranian territorial waters in compliance with “innocent passage,” a legal designation under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) that Iran has signed but not ratified. Article 19 of UNCLOS outlines a range of activities that are permissible for military vessels in another state’s territorial waters. The United States, which has not signed the international convention, generally understands innocent passage rights in accordance with UNCLOS as a part of customary maritime law. (Indeed, readers at the Diplomat following U.S. Navy actions in the South China Sea may remember the salience of the “innocent passage” issue there.) For the moment, based on available information, there is no reason to suspect that the U.S. Navy vessels were conducting activities inimical to Iran or contravening innocent passage or that Iran’s intent in detaining the sailors is inherently hostile.

http://thediplomat.com/2016/01/iranian-navy-holds-us-navy-sailors-in-the-persian-gulf/
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I don't think this will amount to anything. There are bigger issues. 'Course the Pearl Harbor attack was instigated by a screw up.
 

Unlike them to do this while there's still some mileage in it.

There'll be a quid quo pro somewhere.

Keep your eye on the small print, America. Something tucked away on the same page as a major story!
 
Well.. the Sailors and the boats have been released with Tehran confirming that one ships navigation system failed and the drifting into Iranian waters an accident.. Of course this is much to the Chagrin of the GOP candidates and Right wing talking heads.. I know they got a little shiver up their collective legs when this story broke.. hoping to use it to the BEST of their advantage.. and the wind has been unceremoniously pulled from their sails. Not that it will stop them from trying to spin this to their liking. I find it interesting that those who claim to be the TRUE Patriots and Americans would be hoping for a confrontation and international crisis to further their cause... That said.. this type of diplomacy and cooperation from Iran would have been unthinkable in the past. Kudos to our President and Secretary Kerry for their efforts.
 
Bluecheese50 said:
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm!
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Well if you don't believe that nasty old lyin' USA... Perhaps you will accept Iran's version..

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...iled-into-its-waters/articleshow/50562296.cms

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said it had freed the sailors after determining they had entered Iranian territorial waters by mistake. The sailors had been detained aboard two US Navy patrol boats in the Gulf on Tuesday.

"Our technical investigations showed the two US Navy boats entered Iranian territorial waters inadvertently," the IRGC said in a statement carried by state television. "They were released in international waters after they apologized," it added.
 
No, but there is wheeling and dealing going on on both sides. Iran is torn between hardliners and moderates. The incident was evidently caused by the military and may not have been known until later by other elements of the government...
 
Shalimar said:
Sometimes there is no conspiracy.
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and I'm sure a whole lot of nonsense will be spewed by the right about the US apology... So I ask... why should the USA never have to apologize? Clearly we were in the wrong.. perhaps unavoidably.. but we shouldn't have been where we were.. For example.. if I accidently walked into my neighbor's house.. for whatever reason.. wouldn't an apology be in order? This notion that we are weak (read.. OBAMA is weak) for an apology is nonsense.
 
Accidentally is the key word. Our history is replete with accidents, and the best one was when Gary Powers was shot down and we were spinning the story of weather balloons straying off course...
 
What a difference between the Iranians reactions here and that of Turkey who shot down the Russian jet and then killed one pilot while he was parachuting to safety for the sake of perhaps 17 seconds. Maybe NATO should give the boot to Turkey and invite Iran in? Which one appears to have integrity in these two instances?
 
QuickSilver said:
and I'm sure a whole lot of nonsense will be spewed by the right about the US apology... So I ask... why should the USA never have to apologize? Clearly we were in the wrong.. perhaps unavoidably.. but we shouldn't have been where we were.. For example.. if I accidently walked into my neighbor's house.. for whatever reason.. wouldn't an apology be in order? This notion that we are weak (read.. OBAMA is weak) for an apology is nonsense.
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I've always felt that it takes a big/strong man to apologize.
 
QuickSilver said:
and I'm sure a whole lot of nonsense will be spewed by the right about the US apology... So I ask... why should the USA never have to apologize? Clearly we were in the wrong.. perhaps unavoidably.. but we shouldn't have been where we were.. For example.. if I accidently walked into my neighbor's house.. for whatever reason.. wouldn't an apology be in order? This notion that we are weak (read.. OBAMA is weak) for an apology is nonsense.
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I can't even believe the spin on this story by the media, Fox news, talk show hosts and politicians, scary to think any of those people have any power in this country, whether it be power of the press or of the government. I hear lots of saber rattling, insulting Iran, exaggeration of the occurrences to serve their war hawk agendas.

As far as I know, those three boats were fully loaded with military and weapons, they were likely on an intelligence mission and got sloppy by drifting into Iranian waters. They were held for a short period of time, fed and treated very well, then released with their weapons. How perfect is that scenario?

We should be happy that they're still alive, and thank Iran for not taking further action against them. It's standard protocol, even for the police in the US, to have someone kneel in a position where they can't attack, until they decide they are to be trusted to stand normally.

They fed them sitting on the ground, which is tradition in most of these places, the woman was given a head scarf to wear which is also nothing out of the ordinary. Just look at some of our news women who report from these areas, many times we see the same.

What if three Iranian gunboats closed in on our shores, how do you thing we would handle it? There are people itching to go to war over this, they still have sour grapes over the Iran deal and they'll do anything that pleases Israel, even if it means killing more of our troops to do it. I understand that many big republicans were in favor of the deal, the oil companies and others saw the financial benefits of it, selfish reasons, but they supported the deal and we don't hear much on the news about that.

I heard that someone on Fox news was actually wanting to punish the sailor for apologizing, calling him a traitor. Why, so saying we're sorry we made a mistake? It's a wonder anyone wants to serve this country anymore, for fear of being stabbed in the back by their own people.

As far as using this incident, which I hear happens fairly often by the way, as an added dig on our President is pathetic, they'll try and blame him for anything they can dream up....has everyone here gone mad?? No wonder these countries hate us, look how we respond when they do the right thing.

I admit I hadn't been really following this incident since the beginning on the news, but enough bits and pieces jump out at me every day on these sailors from various news sources, radio and TV. What I'm hearing really makes me sick.
 
Regardless of the actual political beliefs involved, ie liberal or conservative, what scares me is the vituperative rage displayed by a certain portion of the extreme right. I realise, this in no way reflects the views of moderate republicans, in fact I believe it

has less to do with politics, than a rabid desire to crush any and all people who do not conform to a narrow, Puritanical, paranoid view of the world, where only an anointed few have the correct vision of what constitutes a righteous society. It

speaks to religious fanaticism, with politics merely a vehicle used to enforce a rigid elitist agenda, totally at odds with modern society, in fact, the destruction of democracy and human rights, that most Americans value above all things. Currently, the

weapon used, rather efficiently, IMO, is fear.
 
They were treated as pows, seeeems ok as far pow treatment goes. But they were also used like pows for propaganda with the 'apology'. That being said this was probably a mission of some kind either to test Iranian response times and reaction or they were trying to sneak onto that Island. Just like the Iranians were testing weapon near a US aircraft carrier battle group a few weeks ago.

Cold war cat and mouse.
 
Shalimar said:
Regardless of the actual political beliefs involved, ie liberal or conservative, what scares me is the vituperative rage displayed by a certain portion of the extreme right. I realise, this in no way reflects the views of moderate republicans, in fact I believe it

has less to do with politics, than a rabid desire to crush any and all people who do not conform to a narrow, Puritanical, paranoid view of the world, where only an anointed few have the correct vision of what constitutes a righteous society. It

speaks to religious fanaticism, with politics merely a vehicle used to enforce a rigid elitist agenda, totally at odds with modern society, in fact, the destruction of democracy and human rights, that most Americans value above all things. Currently, the

weapon used, rather efficiently, IMO, is fear.
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Very well said!
 
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