Surely it is coinsidence that the US Navy is rescueing Iranians from the sea/pirates, twice the last week already?

They must really want that drone back

Pure coincidence. The fact that we’re hearing about it is PR. But the (unwritten, no lawyers involved) law of the sea is that mariners help each other. And the coincidence isn’t so far-fetched, since the US Navy and Coast Guard are present in great strength in the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Straits of Hormuz, Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean – especially now.

It never hurts to come to the aid of a fellow human being, not matter where they reside.

I’m glad the US Navy rescued these sailors. When I was in Dubai I went down to the harbour and saw the Iranian sailors in their Dhows. They are pleasant friendly people just making a living in a traditional way. They have little English but they have a sense of humour. When I said Ahmedinijad and tapped my head to indicate insanity they smiled.

there is just an equal dislike for the Pirates. This is the thing that gets overlooked about American military and it is very upsetting.
We are not a bunch of yee-haw gun up rednecks that shoot anything that moves. We actually do give a huge shit about our fellow man and often times even if it is a man you’ve shot, our military will provide him with medical care.
Our government keeps a close distance to the pirates. You will see in months to come, better things.

It was bound to happen. The US Navy’s presence in those waters was deemed necessary otherwise they won’t be there at all. Those Iranian fishermen were unlucky encountering bad guys but got lucky meeting the good guys. Nothing sweeter than well armed strangers coming to save your life. Whoever they are wouldn’t matter.

I guess I have watched too many episodes of 24 and the likes…
So it is too far fetched to assume that the fishermen were in sight for a longer period already, and that a high commander somewhere thought it now to be a perfect time to help them, with in mind the ongoing shananigans in Hormuz?

Thank you for your replies!

@rebbel Even if that was exactly what happened, I wouldn’t fault the US Commander for wanting to have a photo-op. A good deed is a good deed even if it’s for show. However, if everything was staged, then that would be different. But that would just be me recalling all those Mission Impossible movie scenarios : )

Actually, this may have been happening in the past as well. Some of those old dhows are not as seaworthy as they might be, and if they’re operated by sailors who have a “god will provide” attitude, then they may get into trouble on a regular basis (remember that the dhow in the article cited was a 3:00 AM “flooding” distress call). So it’s politic to publicize the ‘good acts’ now, where it may have been a more neutral ‘business as usual’ before. (Because you don’t hear about every Coast Guard rescue of American sailors in American waters, either.)

The Navy always has a presence in the Persian Gulf, and it really isn’t fun floating around waiting for something to happen. Hell, I have been on a ship that rescued more than one group of people.

If you are surprised that there are ships near Iran then you might also be surprised to know that banks have security cameras just in case someone tries to rob the place.