Iran continues to avoid that path to being a responsible regional power after getting their nuclear deal:
Dangerous confrontations between Iranian and American warships in the Persian Gulf are up more than 50 percent in 2016 compared with this time last year, according to a U.S. defense official – despite the highly touted nuclear accord, as well as a recent $1.7 billion U.S. payment to Tehran.
The latest incidents of provocative Iranian behavior flared in the Persian Gulf earlier this week, including one filmed by the U.S. Navy. The video showed four Iranian gunboats from its Revolutionary Guard Corps coming within 300 yards of USS Nitze, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer.
The incident was part of a troubling pattern, according to stats shared with Fox News.
In one recent incident, a Cyclone-class patrol boat fired warning shots at the Iranians.
One day, by coming so close to our ships, the Iranians could numb American ship commanders to these maneuvers and then work themselves into a good firing position--and then open fire on the vulnerable US vessel.
I do love how the nuanced appearing in the media explain how this is really the Revolutionary Guards (Pasdaran) faction in Iran pressuring the Iranian government--so it really isn't the Iranian government's fault!
This type of excuse makes it even into Stripes!
“In particular, the provocations may have a domestic political dimension aimed at those within President Hassan Rouhani’s government who advocate better relations with the West,” wrote Farzin Nadimi, a U.S.-based analyst writing in the website The Washington Institute, a private think tank.
Nadimi wrote that the Revolutionary Guard may be trying to bolster their image as the protector of Iran’s coastal borders to justify their substantial share of the defense and research budget.
Seriously. This is considered a sophisticated view of Iranian government structure and actions.
So why did we come to any agreement--let alone one on nukes--with a government that does not have control of its armed forces? And which we don't even expect to control their armed forces?
Could our Navy blow some of these Iranian vessels out of the water while our State Department explains that the American government is totally against such actions--but the Navy is just pushing its position in intra-governmental negotiations on the FY 2017 defense budget?
I mean, can we really be expected to control every bit of our widely deployed military?
Spare some nuance for America, eh?
