According to Haaretz, “Iran's government on Saturday welcomed the U.S. Navy's rescue of 13 Iranian fishermen held by pirates, calling it a positive humanitarian gesture.” See article: Iran thanks US for rescue of sailors" http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/iran-begrudgingly-thanks-u-s-navy-saving-13-sailors-held-captive-somali-pirates-article-1.1002353?localLinksEnabled=false
U.S. officials confirmed Friday that the fishermen had been “rescued” by a U.S. Navy destroyer on Thursday, more than 40 days after their boat was commandeered by suspected Somali pirates in the northern Arabian Sea.
The rescue came just a few days after Tehran warned the U.S. to keep the same group of warships out of the Persian Gulf in a reflection of Iran's fear that American warships attack Iran in a pre-emptive strike.
HUMANITARIAN GESTURE?
"The rescue of Iranian sailors by American forces is considered a humanitarian gesture and we welcome this behavior," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast was quoted as saying by state TV's Al-Alam Arabic channel.
Iran's Fars news agency had a different take on the incident, calling the rescue operation a “dramatization” of a routine event. But there is no denying lives were saved.
The Fars report noted that attacks by Somali pirates in the region are common and said that Iran's navy has itself freed many mariners held by pirates in recent years without seeking to highly publicize it.
Amid rising tension with Iran over its nuclear program, Washington reveled in delivering Friday's announcement that the rescuing ships were the same ones Iran's army chief had just said were no longer welcome in the Persian Gulf.
"Basically, rescuing trading and fishing boats from the hands of pirates in the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden is considered a completely normal issue," Fars said. "A U.S. helicopter filming the rescue operation from the first minute makes it look like a Hollywood drama with specific locations and actors. It shows the Americans tried to publicize it through the media and present the American warship as a savior."
Fars reported in April that Iranian naval commandos had driven off pirates attempting to hijack a supertanker off Pakistan's southwestern coast.
"Iran's navy has rescued various foreign ships from the hands of pirates, but never publicized that," it said.
Naval forces from several countries patrol shipping lanes in the region in pursuit of Somali pirates. The pirates, who are after huge ransoms, have dramatically expanded their range in recent years and targeted some of the largest vessels to take to the seas, including oil supertankers.
ANTI PIRACY OPERATIONS – AN AREA OF COOPERATION?
“Anti piracy operations could be one area where Iran and the US could cooperate”, says Abraham Mohammed of Charlotte, N.C. “But it is unlikely the US will reach out in peace to Iran. There is an agenda involved here. That agenda is regime change”, said Mohammed, who works as a dishwasher in Charlotte, N.C.
We tried unsuccessfully to contact noted Charlotte, N.C. Iranian activist Nasrin Robinson, for an opinion on this. However we talked with several Iranians in Charlotte who declined to talk with me. One activist called me aside and discussed his hope that Iran and the US could work together on peace rather than war. He declined to be named out of fear that Iranian official could retaliate against his relatives in Tehran.
One Iranian activist who asked not to be named in this report said: “The US is hell bent on going to war in Iran and I fear my relatives will be killed in any bombing campaign. That is how Americans fight! With bombs and airplanes, I don’t think they care about civilians. I also worry the US will unleash the dogs of war in my country and destroy it like it did Iraq and Libya…I wish that the US and Iran could be friends, instead of enemies. Not everyone in Iran is an enemy. My 98 year old grandmother has nothing to do with international politics she is trapped in Tehran if war comes, who will evacuate her if the US warplanes drop bombs on my country. I also have uncles, nephews and cousins in the Iranian military who say they are preparing to fight the US in recent war games. They indicate that the fear of a US bombing attack is very high in Iran. It is having the effect of unifying the nation against a common enemy. This is something the US does not seem to understand. If their strategy is to divide and conquer they are doing a lousy job…When you told me about US warship rescuing Iranian sailors I wanted to cry tears of joy on the hope it could bring our two people together", he said.
Robert Tilford
Charlotte, N.C.
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