Iran’s tyrannical regime is feeling emboldened today.
It has been increasingly aggressive in recent months without penalty (burning down the Saudi Embassy, sending military forces into Syria, sending forces into Iraq, helping overthrow the Sunni regime in Yemen, etc). It humiliated the Obama administration on the eve of the President’s State of the Union address. And if this weren’t enough, on Monday the Iranians are expecting the White House and international community to end economic sanctions and release to Tehran upwards of $50 billion in frozen assets.
- Iran Releases Humiliating Images of U.S. Sailors in Captivity (Washington Free Beacon)
- US apologises for Iran naval incursion — Revolutionary Guards (BBC)
- Iran Releases Video of U.S. Sailor Apologizing: ‘That Was Our Mistake’ (Mediaite)
- Iran Sanctions Seen Lifted by Monday Once Nuclear Deal Verified (Bloomberg)
Did the President even mention Iran’s seizure of our Navy personnel in his State of the Union address last night? No. Did he mention any of Iran’s aggressive behavior? No. Rather, he praised his nuclear deal with Iran as a model of international diplomacy.
With the release of my new book, I’ve been speaking much about the threat posed by the Islamic State in recent weeks. But let’s be clear: the Apocalyptic Islamic tyrants running Iran are 10,000 times more dangerous than those running ISIS.
- Iran is a country of 80 million people with a full blown army, navy and air force.
- Iran has ballistic missiles.
- Iran has legions of terrorist fighters, and alliances with terrorist organizations around the world.
- Iran has an entire nuclear infrastructure that puts them on the road to a nuclear weapons arsenal.
- Iran has a history of waging war and terror on its enemies and has vowed to export its Islamic revolution around the globe.
This is not a regime the White House should be appeasing. Yet that’s exactly what President Obama is doing, and it’s a very dangerous road he is taking us down.
ORIGINAL POST: (Virginia Beach, Virginia, Tuesday afternoon) — Just hours before the President delivers his State of the Union address, Iran has seized two U.S. Navy vessels in the Persian Gulf and are now hosting ten American sailors hostage.
The official Iranian news service says the U.S. sailors have been “arrested.”
The White House is insisting that Iran’s actions suggest no hostile intent.
A few initial thoughts to this developing story:
- Iran’s tyrannical regime has clearly been emboldened by the foolish nuclear deal President Obama, and Tehran keeps ratcheting up its hostile actions.
- Iran recently fired on US Navy ships.
- Iran has allowed mobs to storm and burn the Saudi embassy.
- Now Iran has seized ten US sailors.
- Will Iran hold on to these sailors — plus 4 others Americans Iran is holding (including American Pastor Saeed Abedini) — until the U.S. releases $150 billion in frozen assets as part of the nuclear deal?
- The President should announce he will not release a dime to Iran unless every American is released by Iran and returned safely to the U.S.
The whole situation has thrown a monkey wrench in the President’s plans for his address to Congress and the nation tonight. He desperately wants to say that his “Obama Doctrine” of negotiating with our mortal enemy is a good thing and will produce good results. The truth is we’re edging dangerously close to Jimmy Carter territory here.
Here’s what we know so far:
“Ten American sailors are in Iranian custody after two small U.S. naval craft apparently briefly entered Iranian territorial waters, a U.S. senior defense official said Tuesday,” CNN is reporting. “The official, however, expects the situation to be resolved quickly. A senior administration official said there is nothing to indicate this was anything hostile on the part of any entity in Iran, adding that the U.S. has received high-level assurances that the sailors will be released promptly.”
“White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told CNN’s Jake Tapper that President Barack Obama will be in touch with members of Congress about the incident,” CNN notes.
“Certainly, everybody should be aware of the fact we have been in touch with the Iranians and they have assured us that our sailors are safe and that they’ll be allowed to continue their journey promptly,” Earnest said.
“A U.S. official said the sailors may be spending the night in Iran, and it’s not expected that they would depart until after daylight,” CNN added. “A senior administration official told CNN that the U.S. lost contact with the two ships, which were en route from Kuwait to Bahrain….The U.S. is uncertain whether the vessels, which were sailing near Farsi Island in the Persian Gulf, intentionally entered Iranian waters, and the senior defense official said no distress call was made by the ships….The Fars News agency also reported that the American boats were equipped with three, 50-caliber machine guns. The boats crossed a little more than a mile into Iranian-patrolled waters, reported Fars, which cited information recorded on the GPS device of the American vessels and now in the hands of the IRGC. Fars also reported that the ‘arrested’ sailors were nine men and one woman.”
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