Carter: The Nuclear Agreement Will Not Prevent Action Against Iran's Malicious Influence

On Thursday, March 17, U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter described the brief detention of 10 American Marines in the Persian Gulf waters in January as a violation of international law and stated that the nuclear agreement would not prevent actions to counter Iran's malicious influence. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy seized two American vessels along with their crew on January 12, while they mistakenly entered waters near Farsi Island in the Persian Gulf, but released them within 24 hours. According to AFP, Carter characterized Iran's actions as 'unjust, unprofessional, and inconsistent with international law' during a Senate Armed Services Committee meeting. He remarked, 'Since then, we have found nothing to change this reality.' The U.S. Navy claimed that navigational errors caused the vessels to drift into Iranian waters. However, the commander of the IRGC Navy stated in a public session of parliament that while the American vessels intended to travel from Farsi Island to Arab Island, their engine failure caused the current to push them several hundred meters into Iranian waters. These 18-meter vessels were en route from Kuwait to Bahrain. News agencies close to the IRGC quickly published photos of the American sailors kneeling on their vessels with their hands on their heads. Another image showed an American sailor with tears streaming down his face. The U.S. Defense Secretary, who had previously described the released images as 'very, very distressing,' stated on Thursday that the nuclear agreement would not prevent the Department of Defense from acting 'to deter Iranian aggression, counter its malign influence, and uphold our firm commitments to our friends and allies in the region, especially Israel.' Ali Razmjoo, commander of the IRGC Navy's second region, told reporters on March 15 that '13,000 pages of information from laptops, GPS, and maps found on the American vessels have been extracted, which can be examined and utilized by the Islamic Republic of Iran in various fields.' According to IRNA, he noted the global reaction to the detention and release of the American Marines, stating that '550 pages of reflections on this action have also been collected and compiled into a book.' Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, called the detention of the American Marines a 'brave and commendable action' and awarded 'conquest' medals to five IRGC commanders, including the commander of the Navy. In this context, the Pentagon stated that Iran had seized two U.S. Navy boats, and President Biden confirmed that the U.S. had not apologized to Iran for the sailors. Carter reiterated that the reason for the American Marines' entry into Iranian waters was navigational error. Initial reports from the U.S. military regarding the detention and release of the sailors were also mentioned, as well as the awarding of conquest medals to commanders involved in the detention of American sailors. Rear Admiral Fadavi stated that a lot of information had been extracted from the belongings of the detained sailors. The events surrounding Farsi Island were described as 'sailors' mistakes' and 'criticism of Iran.'