Published on Sep 20, 2016
During the final years of the Obama administration, Iranian gunboats regularly harassed U.S. ships, with three dozen such interactions occurring in 2016. (snip)The worst incident occurred in January 2016, when the Iranians captured two U.S. Navy riverine patrol boats and 10 sailors.
Riverine patrol boat of the type that was captured by the Iranians
"But that’s nothing but a humiliating memory now that America has a president who won’t stand for it:
During President Donald Trump’s first year in office, the number of annual incidents dropped to 14, a decrease of about 60 percent. So far in 2018, there has not been a single case of harassment, the U.S. Navy told Fox News.
"The change by the former bullies is completely understandable:
Trump commented on this issue on the campaign trail, saying, “With Iran, when they circle our beautiful destroyers with their little boats, and they make gestures at our people, that they shouldn’t be allowed to make, they will be shot out of the water.”The first incident of the Trump administration occurred in July 2017. A U.S. Navy warship fired a warning shot at an Iranian gunboat that came within 150 yards of the American vessel.The Navy publicly acknowledged the changes in Iran’s behavior in March.“It seems like they’ve absolutely made a conscious decision to give us more space,” Navy Cmdr. William Urban, spokesman for U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, told reporters. “That is definitely a change in their behavior.”
“ 'Peace through strength” is not an empty slogan, it is a strategy that works."
Feb 11, 2016: Iran Mocks US Sailors in Revolution Day Parade
. . . "Iranian state media released images yesterday that it said shows one of the U.S. sailors weeping while in detention. The State Department expressed its “disgust” at Iran’s decision to release that footage in a statement to ABC News. Last month, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said he was “very, very angry” after Iran first released footage of the U.S. sailors and said the U.S would not have done the same to the Iranians, had the roles been reversed." . . .
Iran Harassed The US Navy Under Obama. Here’s Why It Stopped Under Trump . . . "The “openly acknowledged there was a shift that happened roughly around the time we had our political transition,” Jonathan Schanzer, vice president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Business Insider. “There was a status quo and the status quo changed.”
. . . "Instead, rushing U.S. ships and putting them on the defensive, as well as capturing sailors, works mainly for propaganda purposes for Iran, whose authoritarian regime controls the media and pushes a heavily anti-U.S. agenda." . . .
Feb 11, 2016: Iran Mocks US Sailors in Revolution Day Parade
. . . "Iranian state media released images yesterday that it said shows one of the U.S. sailors weeping while in detention. The State Department expressed its “disgust” at Iran’s decision to release that footage in a statement to ABC News. Last month, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said he was “very, very angry” after Iran first released footage of the U.S. sailors and said the U.S would not have done the same to the Iranians, had the roles been reversed." . . .
Iran Harassed The US Navy Under Obama. Here’s Why It Stopped Under Trump . . . "The “openly acknowledged there was a shift that happened roughly around the time we had our political transition,” Jonathan Schanzer, vice president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Business Insider. “There was a status quo and the status quo changed.”
. . . "Instead, rushing U.S. ships and putting them on the defensive, as well as capturing sailors, works mainly for propaganda purposes for Iran, whose authoritarian regime controls the media and pushes a heavily anti-U.S. agenda." . . .
