Kerry did not express regret to Iran in talks to free sailors

“But President Obama completely omitted this latest example of Iran’s provocative behavior so as not to interfere with his delusional talking points about his risky nuclear deal with Iran”. As negotiations with Tehran accelerated in 2013, US officials insisted the diplomacy concerned only ending the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran and shouldn’t signal a strategic realignment that would forsake longstanding USA allies like Israel or the Gulf state Sunni monarchies.

In pursuing a deal with Iran the Obama administration and its allies have argued that treating Iran reasonably will persuade it to behave reasonably in future. It denies it had any intention to build nuclear weapons. Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kan., said “Congress and the president should not be swayed by Iran’s intentional attempts to humiliate America”.

Kerry explained to Zarif that the sailors – crews in two US Navy patrol boats – had been on a routine transit mission between Kuwait and Bahrein and urged him to ensure that they were released quickly and unharmed. “How many United Nations resolutions does Iran have to violate?”.

KELEMEN: Royce, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, says Iranian hardliners have been, in his words, on a bit of a tear since the nuclear deal was signed, testing ballistic missiles and arresting an Iranian-American businessman.

Iranian and US ships often come within hailing distance in the Persian Gulf during patrols and maneuvers.

The White House said on Monday Obama would veto the “Iran Terror Finance Transparency Act”, saying it would prevent the United States from implementing the Iran deal by tying Obama’s ability to lift sanctions to non-nuclear issues.

The general prohibitions on US persons will continue to include: investment in Iran; importing Iranian-origin goods or services; and exporting goods or services to Iran, including clearing USA dollars.

Kerry, who was already hosting Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and their two Filipino counterparts at the State Department, excused himself from those meetings to begin the telephone diplomacy after he became aware of the incident. Staff members did an initial round of fact-finding and then briefed Kerry at about 12:30 p.m.

“The fact that Kerry can just pick up the phone and call Zarif to resolve the situation shows that the personal relationship and modicum of trust between them proved crucial”, says Ali Vaez, senior Iran analyst with the International Crisis Group. “The sailors were later transferred ashore by US Navy aircraft, while other sailors took charge of the RCBs and continued transiting toward Bahrain, the boats’ original destination”.

Before announcing the USA sailors’ release, Press TV reported the group of 10, being held on Farsi Island off the coast of Iran, were “likely to be released soon” because their presence there was unintended, quoting a spokesman from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, CNN reported. “We haven’t been able to fully debrief the sailors”, the official said.

Secretary of State John Kerry predicted Wednesday the achievement “within the next coming days”.

Still, it’s important not to overstate any warmth between the US and Iran.