The Islamic Republic of Iran’s release of the US Navy sailors, who had
entered the Iranian waters illegally due to technical problems, has
indications that would go beyond efforts to avoid escalation, says a
Virginia-based analyst.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari said on
Wednesday that the entry of the two US Navy vessels was not a “hostile
act" as it had come about due to “technical problems with the navigation
systems.”
Iran released a footage showing the arrest and treatment of the 10 troops, hours after they were set free.
The incident came at a time that the implementation day for Tehran's
historic nuclear deal with six world powers, including the US, was
approaching.
After being assured that the troops were not spying on the country and
had been drifted away due to technical issues as claimed, Iran set them
free.
The commander of the American crew told Iranian media that trespassing
the Iranian waters, which led to their detention by Iran’s Islamic
Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy on Tuesday, was a “mistake,” for
which he apologized.
US Secretary of State John Kerry thanked Tehran for “cooperation in
swiftly resolving this matter.” Mohammad Javad Zarif, his Iranian
counterpart, also stressed in a tweet that the issue was resolved
through “dialog and respect, not threats and impetuousness.”
According to Keith Preston, chief editor and director of
AttacktheSystem.com, the “diplomatic” handling of the situation is a
“positive sign in a wider sense.”
“Not just because this incident was prevented from being escalated but
also because there is evidence that there’s some tendency towards
genuine cooperation between the two countries,” Preston told Press TV in
an interview on Wednesday.
He asserted that Iran was “justified” in seizing the boats as they had entered its waters in the Persian Gulf “illegally”.
“It looks like the Obama administration, at least, is not trying to
escalate hostilities with Iran at the present time (and) that they do
want the nuclear deal to be successful to some degree.”
The peaceful resolution of the incident “indicates that there is some
effort being made by both nations to create a more diplomatic
relationship.”
The analyst also commented on remarks by US Vice President Joe Biden, who told CBS News that there was "no apology" given.
Biden is trying to “avoid recrimination,” Preston said, noting, “It’s
important that an incident like this not be escalated to a point where
it creates tension that need not exist.”
