U.S. Boat Seizure: Another Example of Iranian Naval Belligerence

On Tuesday, January 12, 2016, two U.S. Navy Riverine patrol boats carrying 10 sailors were captured and held captive by Iranian forces. The sailors were sailing from Kuwait to Bahrain.

The 10 sailors were held on Farsi Island, just off the Coast of Iran, which is also a home of an Islamic Revolution Guard Corp (IRGC). Early Wednesday morning, January 13, 2016, the sailors were released from Iranian custody.

According to the New York Times, unnamed State Department and Pentagon officials cited a mechanical malfunction as the primary reason for the boats going off course. Soon after, Administration officials claimed, the military had lost contact with the boat.

As more information came out Wednesday, Iranian Fars News Agency reported that the boats navigational systems led the U.S. sailors into Iranian waters. While the Iranians were the only ones to investigate the ships so far, it is likely the U.S. will also conduct its own investigation into the matter.

Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary John Kerry, and the New York Times label this incident as a simple misunderstanding between two nations trying to better relations, but Iranian sources paint a slightly different picture. Fars posted an article early Wednesday morning quoting the IRGC spokesman, Gen. Ramezan Sharif, stating, “If investigations show that there hasn’t been any purposeful action, they will be treated differently, but if the information taken through interrogations reveal that their trespassing has been done for intelligence work and irrelevant jobs, officials will definitely take the necessary actions.” This would suggest the Iranian response was far more aggressive than Vice President Biden and Secretary Kerry claim, as evidence would show.

The release of the U.S. sailors has been touted as an illustration of the warming relations between the U.S. and Iran, yet Iran has a history of targeting vessels open waters. In 2004 and 2007 Iranian IRGC forces captured British vessels and sailors in a similar situation. In both cases the Iranian forces claimed the ships were in Iranian territory, although facts point to the ships being in open waters.

In April of 2015, Iranians seized the Marshall Islands flagged cargo ship Maersk Tigris along the Strait of Hormuz. News reports called the seizure violent, and U.S. ships responded to the distress calls. After several days the ship was released, but it once again showed Iran’s hostilities in open water.

Iranian belligerence did not end at the Strait of Hormuz. Several weeks later the IRGC fired shots at a Singapore-flagged vessel after ordering the ship to enter Iranian waters. These examples illustrate how aggressive the Iranians are. The current Administration may hope that the new nuclear deal will create a more cooperative Iran, but it is unlikely any major changes will occur in the near future.

The Obama Administration has been reluctant to challenge the Iranians on their questionable behavior despite outcries from the Senate. Since the Nuclear Deal was announced in September, Iran has tested two long-range missiles, which directly breaks the nuclear agreement and UN Security Council Resolution 1929. The two missile launches, October 10, 2015 and November 21, 2015, illustrate that Iran is moving forward with its ballistic missile technology. The Obama administration’s standard on these “improved relations” must be reevaluated. Aggressively detaining American sailors and testing long-range ballistic missiles would seem less of a partnership than a show of strength.

Sec. Kerry, Vice President Biden, and even U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter should stop looking for reasons to praise U.S.-Iranian relations, and start seeing that the recent nuclear deal has created a more aggressive and empowered Iran.