1. Welcome to SportsJournalists.com, a friendly forum for discussing all things sports and journalism.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register for a free account to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Access to private conversations with other members.
    • Fewer ads.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

Iran Holds Two U.S. Navy Boats After Mechanical Problems

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by YankeeFan, Jan 12, 2016.

  1. YankeeFan

    YankeeFan Well-Known Member

    Nice timing:

    The crews of two small United States Navy patrol boats were picked up by the Iranian authorities in the Persian Gulf on Tuesday after commanders lost contact with the vessels, and Pentagon officials said that Iran had agreed to return the sailors soon.

    An official said that the boats appeared to have drifted into Iranian territorial waters after one of them experienced mechanical problems. The boats were moving between Kuwait and Bahrain when contact was lost late in the afternoon, a Defense Department official said.

    The Pentagon said they had been on a routine training mission, but those waters are a frequent location for intelligence collection by the United States, Iran and many Gulf countries. A senior military official said he expected the sailors to remain held overnight and be released on Wednesday.

    The detention of the 10 sailors comes at a particularly delicate moment in the tense American-Iranian relationship, just days before the formal implementation of a nuclear deal in which the United States is supposed to unfreeze about $100 billion in Iranian assets in return for the disablement of critical nuclear facilities.


    http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/13/world/middleeast/iran-holds-us-navy-boats-crew.html?_r=0
     
  2. Vombatus

    Vombatus Well-Known Member

    They better return the boats too. We don't need another USS Pueblo incident.
     
  3. cranberry

    cranberry Well-Known Member

    I'll be happy only when the crew members are safe, but Kerry's efforts to open communications lines with Iran are apparently paying off here.

    The North Koreans still have the Pueblo and they tortured the crew members for months.
     
  4. Vombatus

    Vombatus Well-Known Member

    Yes, eleven brutal months. Another backstory to how insane 1968 was. Thankfully the crew was released from hell right before Christmas.
     
  5. franticscribe

    franticscribe Well-Known Member

  6. 93Devil

    93Devil Well-Known Member

    Now if it was 1978 or so and Reagan was running for president...
     
  7. Baron Scicluna

    Baron Scicluna Well-Known Member

    If it was 2002 and Bush was president, he'd have attacked Iraq.

    "Eh, Iraq and Iran each have I-R-A in their name. Close enough."
     
    Smallpotatoes likes this.
  8. SnarkShark

    SnarkShark Well-Known Member

    TigerVols and franticscribe like this.
  9. YankeeFan

    YankeeFan Well-Known Member

    They released pictures of them, in violation of the Geneva Conventions, and they made the woman cover her head.

    But, let's celebrate!
     
  10. exmediahack

    exmediahack Well-Known Member

    Ben Affleck wrote the script for this story last night. In theatres in time for Christmas.
     
  11. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    How likely do you think our version of events is true?

    "Routine training mission" and "mechanical problems" are the go-to excuses when you get caught where you aren't supposed to be.

    To me, that's as believable as a politician leaving "to spend more time with family."
     
    BTExpress, Liut and Riptide like this.
  12. Riptide

    Riptide Well-Known Member

    But it was on CNN!!!!
     
    Liut and Ace like this.
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page