Kerry told Iran sailor capture could be made into ‘good story’

Secretary of State John Kerry thanked Iran Wednesday for releasing ten apprehended U.S. Navy sailors after they were paraded in front of state media.

WASHINGTON (AP) – For diplomats from countries without diplomatic relations, Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif sure are doing a lot of diplomacy.

The comments about the deal’s implementation came only hours after 10 US sailors were released by Iranian authorities after their boats drifted into Iran’s territorial waters.

Deputy nuclear chief Ali Asghar Zarean denied that report a day later, saying that Iran “will not apply any physical change in this field until a final agreement is finalized”.

“When that happens, we are convinced it will make us and our partners around the world more safe and secure”, he said in remarks at the National Defence University. While administration officials were given assurances that the Americans would be released the following day, the fact that they were still being detained complicated Obama’s claim of success in dealing with Iran during the speech.

The EU on Thursday extended a freeze on sanctions against Iran for another two weeks, clearing the way for their complete end once the United Nations certifies Tehran is complying with the terms of a historic nuclear deal.

The key to this success, we are told, was that the USA and Iran had a reliable diplomatic channel because of nuclear negotiations to defuse this potential crisis.

While Iran maintains that the new counter-terror measure would harm its worldwide business interests, the lawmakers affirmed that the Islamic Republic could exploit flaws in the USA screening process as part of its ongoing sponsor of terror operations.

The deal with Iran resolved a decade-long conflict over Tehran’s controversial nuclear program. “And we are going to require that they provide sufficient access to global inspectors so that those steps can be independently verified prior to any sanctions relief being offered to the Iranians”.

“But calm was restored to the region with the timely action of the IRGC forces and came under our 100 percent control”, said Fadavi, who also described the reaction as “the USS Truman Aircraft carrier showed unprofessional moves for 40 minutes after the detention of the trespassers, while we were highly prepared with our coast-to-sea missiles, missile-launching speedboats and our numerous capabilities”.

In Iran, the months after the deal was signed in July saw an uptick in anti-U.S. rhetoric and crackdowns on dissidents.

On Monday, President Hassan Rouhani said the country was about to enter “a year of economic prosperity”, with sanctions lifted, and said his government had delivered on its promises.

“Inaction … would send the misguided message that, in the wake of the [nuclear deal], the worldwide community has lost the willingness to hold the Iranian regime accountable for its support for terrorism and other offensive actions throughout the region”, they wrote.

Worldwide sanctions relief will be triggered when Iran follows through on commitments to reduce its nuclear program.

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.