For the second time in a week, an American ship rescued some Iranian sailors Tuesday - even as nuclear tensions mount between Washington and Tehran.
The Coast Guard cutter Monomoy picked up six Iranian mariners from their foundering ship in the Persian Gulf at about 3 a.m. and provided them with water, blankets and a halal breakfast.
Four of the Iranians were on a life raft bobbing in the waves by their rickety cargo ship and one was treated for minor injuries, according to a Pentagon news release.
“Without your help, we were dead,” said the ship’s owner, Hakim Hamid-Awi, according to the Navy. “Thank you for all that you did for us.”
The Iranian mariners were ferried in inflatable boats to an Iranian coast guard vessel about an hour and a half later.
Last Thursday, a different U.S. ship in the Gulf liberated 13 Iranian fishermen who had been held hostage for weeks by Somali pirates.
The galantry and gratitude of the two high seas rescues stood in stark contrast to the ugly war of words escalating between Iran and the U.S.
On Monday, the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that Iran has been enriching uranium in a secret underground bunker, which the State Department called “a further escalation of their ongoing violations.”
Over the weekend, an Iranian court sentenced an American ex-Marine to death for spying.
Last week, Iran threatened to shut off access to the Straits of Hormuz, which would choke off one fifth of the world’s oil supply and plunge the global economy into chaos.
At home, the GOP primary candidates have been competing for the most hawkish stance on Iran, with several close to threatening war should they win election.
Source: www.nydailynews.com
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