Iran seizes two US Navy boats

[Penn]

If anyone, but our resident mooslim was the C&C, this provocation would likely not happen, or the situation could have been seamen in distress.

[PedOncoDoc]

Originally Posted by Penn

... seamen in distress.

Isn't that part of what got slick Willy Clinton in hot water?

[The Reaper]

I remember when other countries were afraid to provoke us.

And it was not that long ago.

Maybe Kerry will go back to kiss the Iranians' asses again and beg for the sailors' release. Offer Obama's apologies for intruding in international waters.

Not much else going to happen.

TR

[Joker]

Originally Posted by PedOncoDoc

Isn't that part of what got slick Willy Clinton in hot water?

Close, Slick Willie had semen on dedress.

[abc_123]

Originally Posted by Joker

Close, Slick Willie had semen on dedress.

I feel somehow not worthy after reading that.

[Basenshukai]

Originally Posted by Penn

If anyone, but our resident mooslim was the C&C, this provocation would likely not happen, or the situation could have been seamen in distress.

On 1 April 2001, during George W. Bush's Presidency (January 20, 2001 – January 20, 2009), we had the Hainan Island Incident where overly aggressive action by a Chinese J-8 interceptor (PRC) resulted in the emergency landing of a US Navy EP-3D Aries II in the island. Twenty-four US service members were detained and interrogated. They were released ten-days of after diplomatic maneuvering.

Maybe they were testing "W". But, these things happen for so many reasons.

[blacksmoke]

Originally Posted by Sdiver

I'd like to hear your explanation on how two boats lost radio contact and possibly both suffered mechanical failures that made them drift to an island.

[PSM]

Originally Posted by Basenshukai

On 1 April 2001, during George W. Bush's Presidency (January 20, 2001 – January 20, 2009), we had the Hainan Island Incident where overly aggressive action by a Chinese J-8 interceptor (PRC) resulted in the emergency landing of a US Navy EP-3D Aries II in the island. Twenty-four US service members were detained and interrogated. They were released ten-days of after diplomatic maneuvering.

(Just a side note on that, my wife built the route and the initial flight plan for the Continental Airlines pick-up of the crew. We knew what was going to happen and, approximately, when a couple of days before it did.)

Pat

[BrokenSwitch]

Compared to the British sailors who were captured and turned into propaganda in 2007, this sounds tame.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Ne...9#.VpXwCvl95hE


... not that being a POW for even an hour should be called "tame."

[Sdiver]

Interesting on the two styles of reporting.

Here's one....

10 sailors detained in Iran returned to US Navy

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Ten U.S. Navy sailors safely returned to U.S. custody Wednesday after departing Iran, a statement from U.S. Naval Forces Central Command in Bahrain said. There are no indications sailors were harmed during their brief detention, the command said.

The sailors departed Farsi Island at 8:43 a.m. (GMT) aboard the two Riverine Command Boats they had been operating when they lost contact with the U.S. Navy. The Sailors were later transferred ashore by U.S. Navy aircraft, while other sailors took charge of the boats and continued transiting toward Bahrain, the boats' original destination, the statement said. The Navy will investigate the incident.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard said the sailors were released Wednesday after it was determined that their entry into Iranian territorial waters was not intentional.

The nine men and one woman were being held at an Iranian base on Farsi Island after being detained nearby on Tuesday.

The 10 sailors were taken into custody after their two boats drifted into Iranian waters, a leading Iranian official said.

"Investigation shows that entry of American sailors into Iran's territorial waters was due to mechanical problems in their navigation system," Gen. Ali Fadavi, Navy chief of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard, was quoted as saying on Iran's state TV.

U.S. officials had said on Tuesday that Tehran assured them the crew and vessels would be returned safely and promptly.

Earlier Wednesday, Fadavi said the American boats had shown "unprofessional acts" for 40 minutes before being picked up by Iranian forces after entering the country's territorial waters.

The U.S. detainees included nine men and one woman, who were held overnight at an Iranian base on Farsi Island in the Persian Gulf. They were expected to be transferred Wednesday to a U.S. ship in the region.

"U.S. naval force and their frigate showed an unprofessional behavior and had air and naval moves for 40 minutes in the area," Fadavi said at one point. He said Tehran did not consider the U.S. Navy boats violating Iranian territorial waters as "innocent passage."

"Certainly U.S. presence in Persian Gulf and their passage has never been innocent and we do not deem their passage as innocent," he said.

Fadavi said Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif "had a firm stance" during a telephone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry "on their presence in our territorial waters and said they should not have come and should apologize."

"This process is underway now and will not last long. The Guard naval force will carry out orders of top commanders regarding this case as soon as we receive them," he said.

Gen. Ramezan Sharif, spokesman for the Guard, said the U.S. military personnel were to be debriefed.

"If it is determined, after the investigation is carried out, that their action was not intentional, another approach will be taken," he said. "But If it's determined, after they are debriefed and interviewed, that their entry (into Iran's territorial waters) was for intelligence gathering or irrelevant action, definitely the authorities will take the necessary measures."

Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook told The Associated Press late Tuesday U.S. time that the Riverine boats were moving between Kuwait and Bahrain when the U.S. lost contact with them.

U.S. officials said that the incident happened near Farsi Island in the middle of the Gulf. They said some type of mechanical trouble with one of the boats caused them to drift into Iranian territorial waters near the island, and they were picked up by Iran.

"We have been in contact with Iran and have received assurances that the crew and the vessels will be returned promptly," Cook said late Tuesday, U.S. time.

The incident came amid heightened tensions with Iran, and only hours before President Barack Obama gave his final State of the Union address to Congress and the public. It set off a dramatic series of calls and meetings as U.S. officials tried to determine the exact status of the crew and reach out to Iranian leaders.

Kerry, who forged a personal relationship with Zarif through three years of nuclear negotiations, called his Iranian counterpart immediately on learning of the incident, according to a senior U.S. official. Kerry "personally engaged with Zarif on this issue to try to get to this outcome," the official said.

Kerry learned of the incident around 12:30 p.m. EST as he and Defense Secretary Ash Carter were meeting their Filipino counterparts at the State Department, the official said.

Officials said the sailors were part of Riverine Squadron 1 based in San Diego and were deployed to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet in Bahrain. When the U.S. lost contact with the boats, ships attached to the USS Harry S Truman aircraft carrier strike group began searching the area, along with aircraft flying off the Truman.

Officials said a radio signal from one of the boats showed that they were on Farsi Island, setting off efforts to contact the Iranians. The Riverine boats were not part of the carrier strike group, and were on a training mission as they traveled between Kuwait and Bahrain, officials said.

The Riverine boats are not considered high-tech and don't contain any sensitive equipment, so there were no concerns about the Iranians gaining access to the crafts.

The officials were not authorized to discuss the sensitive incident publicly so spoke on condition of anonymity.

The incident came on the heels of an incident in late December when Iran launched a rocket test near U.S. warships and boats passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Meanwhile, Iran was expected to satisfy the terms of last summer's nuclear deal in just days. Once the U.N. nuclear agency confirms Iran's actions to roll back its program, the United States and other Western powers are obliged to suspend wide-ranging oil, trade and financial sanctions on Tehran. Kerry recently said the deal's implementation was "days away."

http://www.stripes.com/news/middle-e...-navy-1.388443

[Sdiver]

Here's the other ...

Iran released U.S. sailors in international waters

Reuters

DUBAI - Iran released ten U.S. sailors on Wednesday after holding them overnight, bringing a swift end to an incident that had rattled nerves days ahead of the expected implementation of a landmark nuclear accord between Tehran and world powers.

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 U.S. Navy patrol boats in the Gulf on Tuesday.

"Our technical investigations showed the two U.S. 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.

IRGC Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi had earlier said that the two U.S. Navy boats entered Iranian territorial waters due to a broken navigation system.

The incident raised tensions between Iran and the United States, which, along with other world powers, reached a deal last year under which Iran will curb its nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.

Some conservatives in both countries, enemies since Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution, have criticized the deal that is due to be implemented in the coming days.

Iran's armed forces chief, Major General Hassan Firouzabadi, said the incident should demonstrate Iranian strength to "troublemakers" in the U.S. Congress, which has sought to put pressure on Iran after the nuclear deal.

And at a presidential campaign rally in the United States, Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, who accuses President Barack Obama of being weak on foreign policy, described the incident as "an indication of where the hell we're going".

DE-ESCALATION

Attributing the boats' incursion into Iranian waters to a navigation error marked a de-escalation in rhetoric. Earlier, the Guards had said the boats were "snooping" in Iranian territory and said Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had demanded an apology from Washington.

The IRGC, the Islamic Republic's praetorian guard, is highly suspicious of U.S. military activity near Iran's borders and many senior officers suspect Washington of pursuing regime change in Tehran.

The Guards operate land and naval units separate to the regular armed forces and stage frequent wargames in the Gulf, which separates Iran from its regional rival Saudi Arabia and a U.S. naval base in Bahrain.

Last month, the U.S. Navy said an IRGC vessel fired unguided rockets near the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route for crude oil that connects the Gulf to the Indian Ocean. Iran denied the vessel had done so.

In April 2015, the Guards seized a container ship belonging to Maersk, one of the world's major shipping lines, in the Gulf because of a legal dispute between the company and Iran. The ship and its 24 crew members were released after 10 days.

The Guards have also seized British servicemen on two occasions, in 2004 and 2007, and a civilian British yacht crew in 2009. On each occasion the sailors were released unharmed after several days.

[JJ_BPK]

Looks like at least one female riverina was captured..

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2...tml?ESRC=eb.nl

[MR2]

Originally Posted by blacksmoke

I'd like to hear your explanation on how two boats lost radio contact and possibly both suffered mechanical failures that made them drift to an island.

I'd like to hear less from you!

[MR2]

We got nobody backing us up here. Nothing.

[JJ_BPK]

1)If there was an ROE,, it was not functioning..

2)500 K open water run with no CAS???

3)posted pics seem to infer they were running CB-90's.. They have a range of 240 nmi (440 km) at 20 knots (37 km/h).

Me thinks there is skulduggery afoot??