That was (relatively) quick.
Ten American sailors detained by Iran were released after a night in the Islamic republic’s custody — a fast outcome following a frenzy of diplomacy but overall very little fuss.
There are at least two key takeaways from the quick resolution of what some feared could develop into an international incident. First, that both the Obama administration and Iranian government are keen to avoid jeopardizing a high-stakes nuclear deal agreed on last year.
“Clearly the United States and Iran now have a mutual interest in maintaining some kind of relationship that will keep this whole thing from being derailed,” said Gary Sick, an Iran expert at Columbia University who formerly served on the National Security Council. “They have every reason in the world to avoid a crisis. Neither the United States government wants it nor Iran wants it.”
News that the sailors had been seized prompted an almost-immediate response from Republicans that the incident proved the deal — aimed at curtailing Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for lifting crippling international sanctions — should be abandoned.
Higher up in the halls of power, there were signs that both Tehran and Washington wanted to tamp down the situation. That was partly to avoid an international incident, all-out war and protect a deal with benefits for both sides.
The Obama administration considers the nuclear deal a significant accomplishment and doesn’t want anything to undermine it.
“The U.S. right now most certainly does not need a confrontation with Iran right now even aside from protecting the nuclear deal,” explained University of Maryland Professor and Brookings Institute senior fellow Shibley Telhami.
The Iranian government, meanwhile, wants to make sure it gets the billions of dollars in sanctions relief from a finalized nuclear deal.
Secretary of State John Kerry put in a call to his Iranian counterpart. Iranian officials, after initially taking a hard stance, later publicly stressed the non-threatening nature of the incursion.
The situation could easily have turned into a crisis but “you’ve got to give them credit for handling it properly,” Telhami said.
The whole episode bore similarities to an incident in 2007, albeit with a very different outcome.
Fifteen British servicemen were seized by Iranian forces in March of that year. They were held for 13 days — and released after a diplomatic crisis erupted.
By contrast, this week’s incident was resolved in under 24 hours.
“That’s about as fast as it gets, given the history of these things,” Sick said.
He said that’s a testament to how much things have changed between Iran and the U.S.








