http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/265742-pelosi-iran-deal-aided-in-sailors-returnJanuary 13, 2016, 12:31 pm
Pelosi credits Iran deal for sailors' release
By Bradford Richardson
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) says the safe return of 10 detained U.S. Navy sailors from Iran is proof that the nuclear agreement with Tehran has improved diplomatic relations.
“The fact is they are free. They have been — they’re back. It happened quickly,” Pelosi said on CNN’s “New Day” on Wednesday. “And I think the diplomacy in the treaty and the fact that the implementation day is imminent all weighed in to make this something that was resolved as quickly as possible.”
She called the sailors' release “proof that building a diplomatic relationship with Iran, at least in terms of the nuclear treaty, has served us well.”
The sailors were freed on Wednesday after being held by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard on Farsi Island for a day.
The sailors were taken into custody Tuesday after one of their two boats experienced mechanical failures, drifting into Iranian waters
None of the sailors was harmed in the incident, the Navy said.
The White House said there is no indication the detainment was an act of aggression.
Republicans, though, seized on the incident, arguing that the nuclear deal has only given Iran more leverage over the U.S.
“This kind of openly hostile action is not surprising,” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) said Tuesday on CNN’s “Situation Room.” “It’s exactly what I and so many others predicted when President Obama was negotiating the nuclear deal with Iran, that it would embolden their aggression toward the United States and our allies in the region.”
Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz said the incident was the latest evidence that the world does not respect President Obama.
“This is the latest manifestation of the weakness of Barack Obama, that every bad actor ... views Obama as a laughing stock,” he said.
