13 Iranian fishermen freed by the US Navy. A diplomatic gesture too (Maj2)

(BRUSSELS2) Chance does things well. In the midst of tension between Iranians and Americans over the Strait of Hormuz, American forces today released 13 Iranians captured by Somali pirates. It was at 12:30 p.m. local time that the SH-60S Seahawk helicopter from the USS Kidd missile destroyer (DDG100) spotted a suspicious skiff that was alongside an Iranian dhow Al Molai.

The Navy's Story

« At the same time, we received a distress call from the captain of the Al Molai, stating that he was being held hostage by the pirates. » underlines the press release of the US Navy. " The Al Molai was taken by the pirates about 40-45 days ago,” explained Josh Schminky, the Criminal Investigation Service agent on board the Kidd. “They were hostages, in difficult conditions, subjected to violence, with limited rations, without medical help. And we have reason to believe that they were forced against their will to assist the pirates in other pirate operations. »

Pirates held on board

The Iranian sailors were taken on board the Stennis, fed, cared for if necessary. The 15 suspected pirates did not resist the boarding by the military and surrendered immediately. They remain for the moment detained on the Al Molai by Kidd's boarding party until next Monday before being transferred to USS John C. Stennis; it will then be ruled on their fate and their possible bringing to justice.

« We are in consultation with our international partners explained Victoria Nuland, spokesperson for the State Department during her press briefing on 6 January. " Unfortunately, there is nothing new. We have over a thousand pirates who have been caught at sea and are currently being prosecuted in about XNUMX countries. So it's always the question of where to send them and who will prosecute ».

In theory, it is up to the State of the victims and the flag of the hijacked boat, in this case Iran, to define whether it wants to prosecute the pirates. A country which justly banned a few days ago the American aircraft carrier from prowling around the Iranian coast...

An operation for the US Navy which arises in full tension with Iran

This event is indeed part of a new phase of tension between Iran and the Americans. The United States has tightened its sanctions against the Islamic Republic threatening to freeze the assets of any financial institution that would work with the Iranian Central Bank on the oil trade. Between two maneuvers in the Strait of Hormuz by the Iranian Navy, General Ataollah Salehien, commander of the fleet, had sent a warning to the US Navy on January 3: " We recommend, advise or rather issue a warning to the American aircraft carrier that left the Persian Gulf where it posed a threat to us. He better not come back. Note that we do not usually repeat our warnings. » he explained according to a dispatch from the Irna agency. Americans, followed by the British, immediately outbid.

In Washington, during a speech to the Atlantic Council on January 5, British Defense Minister Philip Hammond warned Iran that the " closure of the Strait of Hormuz was illegal and doomed to failure stating that the presence of the Royal Navy in the Arabian Gulf was a " key to keeping the Strait of Hormuz open to international trade » and that she would ensure with her allies, the respect of « the free circulation of navigation in the Gulf”. A barely veiled military threat (see an excerpt from this intervention and the comments of Marc Stone, the defense specialist of Skynews).

A humanitarian gesture, no direct contact with Iran, claims the State Department

The State Department spokesman did not want to interpret the release of the Iranian fishermen as reducing tensions between Iran and the United States. It's about " obviously a humanitarian gesture from the crew of the Stennis for taking them on board, feeding them and making sure they were in good health ". Likewise, she denied “ having had direct contact with the Iranian government on this case. They are private citizens ". However, she does not deny indirect contacts, contacts that may have taken place through Switzerland, which represents American interests in Iran (One of my American colleagues had asked this question. The spokesperson did not " heard"!).

Decryption: an operation too opportune to be totally spontaneous

We can have some doubts about this very diplomatic version of humanitarian gesture without ulterior motive. This rescue falls too unexpectedly in a tense context to be totally impromptu and unforeseen. Firstly, the forces of the anti-piracy coalition have a real-time inventory of ships in the hands of pirates. In this daily inventory, it appears that several Iranian ships are in the hands of pirates. Already a year ago a military report noted that " in the Arabian Gulf, pirates continue to launch the majority of their attacks from originally Iranian-flagged dhows that they control”, vessels actually used as mother ships. Second, the Stennis does not really make ships made available by the Americans for the anti-piracy forces (CTF-151 or NATO).

This operation can therefore be further classified as an operation for diplomatic purposes. Tehran was quick to react. In a dispatch to the Irna agency on Saturday (January 7), the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs greeted in a manner " positive the efforts made by the American forces to release Iranian sailors. " All countries have the responsibility to commit their means to fight against piracy " he added. A way to relax the atmosphere after the declarations of the soldiers, bulging the torso. We will see in the next few days if this relaxation, initiated on the backs of the pirates, will produce some effects.

(Updated Saturday, January 7, 13 p.m. and 15 p.m., with statements from the US State Department, background on the Iranian situation, the reaction of the spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a commentary)