Report: Iranian seizure of U.S. Sailors involved violations of international law

The Washington Free Beacon’s Adam Kredo reports Rep. Randy Forbes is upset about the U.S. handling of a seizure of sailors by Iran which took place in January. Forbes tells the Beacon he is relying on a classified briefing available to lawmakers but says the full story probably won’t be declassified for another year:

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“I think that when the details actually come out, most Americans are going to be kind of taken aback by the entire incident, both how Iran handled it and how we handled it,” Forbes disclosed. “I think that’s going to be huge cause for concern for most Americans. That’s why I’ve encouraged members of Congress to get that briefing so they do know exactly what did take place.”

Forbes suggested that Iran’s treatment of the U.S. sailors—which included filming them crying and forcing them to apologize at gunpoint—may have been much worse than what has been publicly reported.

“I think clearly there were violations of international and maritime law that took place here,” Forbes said.

Given what he now knows about the incident, Forbes was particularly upset that Secretary of State John Kerry apologized for the incident.

Last week the Navy announced that it had fired commander Eric Rasch, meaning he will lose his command and be relegated to less critical duties. The Navy also suggested others could face disciplinary action over the incident.

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There seems to be no dispute the sailors were out of position when they were captured by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. However, poor treatment of the sailors by Iran would certainly cast another light on the actions of the Secretary of State and, perhaps, the President. Obama has been focused on securing the legacy of his Iran deal despite Iran’s apparent misbehavior including a ballistic missile launch in March.

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David Strom 6:40 PM | April 18, 2024
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