Rescuing Iranians

It seemed ironic the first time Americans rescued Iranians in distress at sea last month, considering the two countries don’t even have formal diplomatic relations. The second time it looked like a minor footnote of modern history in the making. But when the same thing happened for the third time last month, well, maybe we should start sending bills to Iran for the cost of our continued assistance to their mariners in need.

According to the Pentagon, while on patrol in the Persian Gulf area, U.S. forces:

· freed 13 Iranians held captive for more than a month by pirates on Jan. 5

· rescued six Iranian crew members from their foundering cargo ship on Jan. 10

· saved an Iranian crew that had abandoned their sinking fishing boat on Jan. 18

The first incident was a dramatic rescue in the Gulf of Oman by a counter-piracy team from a U.S. Navy destroyer responding to a distress signal by boarding an Iranian fishing vessel and detaining 15 pirates. The Iranian fishermen were sent on their way after receiving food, water and medical care as well as souvenir U.S. Navy baseball caps.

The second incident happened when a U.S. Coast Guard patrol boat in the north Persian Gulf spotted emergency flares and flashlights coming from an Iranian cargo ship whose crew said their engine room was flooding. After being rescued, the Americans fed the Iranians halal meals in accordance with Islamic law and took them to shore.

The third incident occurred when a U.S. Navy destroyer provided food, water, medical and hygienic supplies to the crew of a sinking Iranian fishing boat who abandoned ship in the central Arabian Sea.

And how did Iran officially respond to all this assistance from the U.S.?

Well, they’re calling us an “arrogant power” and small Iranian speedboats have increased their ongoing game of chicken with U.S. warships by moving uncomfortably close to U.S. vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, considered to be a waterway of vital importance for the worldwide distribution of crude oil. Also, Iran has matter-of-factly announced that its Navy is going to begin patrolling off our East Coast, and not with friendly intent either.

How’s that for thanks?

Sure, the U.N.’s so-called Law of the Sea requires that ship captains render assistance to anyone they see in danger of being lost at sea. It’s also the decent thing to help rescue persons in distress if at all possible. But is this any way for a nation with image problems as large as Iran’s to thank a Good Samaritan nation like the U.S.?

Instead of threatening the U.S. Fleet, mercurial Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad should thank the brave U.S. lifesavers. After all, when U.S. vessels aren’t around, like on Jan. 20 near the Strait of Hormuz when an Iranian passenger vessel ran out of fuel in rough waters, the boat sank and 22 Iranians perished because no one was there to help them.