Two U.S. Navy patrol vessels and its crews were seized by military forces in Iran after drifting into Iranian territorial waters. The highly dangerous situation comes hours prior to President Obama delivering his final State of the Union address.
Iran has a history of holding American hostages; it most famously seized 52 U.S. Embassy workers and held them for 444 days from 1979 to 1981. The crews of the seized vessels includes nine men and 1 woman, according to the Navy.
Official government sources stated that the two U.S. Navy vessels were moving through the Persian Gulf from Kuwait to Bahrain. It is believed that one of the vessels had mechanical issues and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy took the vessels. This is the second provocative message by Iran, which fired rockets near a U.S. Navy carrier group last week. It is unknown whether Iran seized the vessels by force. However, Iranian forces seized the GPS devices and weapons of the ships, displaying the equipment on its national media and stating that the sailors have been arrested. The IRGC is a hard-line military force that is dedicated to preserving the Iranian Revolution.
The Obama administration is downplaying the incident. “We subsequently have been in communication with Iranian authorities, who have informed us of the safety and well-being of our personnel. We have received assurances the sailors will promptly be allowed to continue their journey,” said a senior administration spokesman.
The event could disrupt the historic nuclear weapons deal negotiated by Obama that was supposed to be implemented this weekend. The deal calls for Iran to give up its goal of developing a nuclear weapon in return for more than $100 billion dollars in seized assets. U.S. forces in the area include elements of the 5th Fleet, which consists of a Carrier Task Group and Marine Expeditionary forces. Some are saying this is a deliberate move to humiliate Obama and expose a failed foreign policy.
