punditman says:
So...what was this Iranian-British sideshow really all about?
Iran releases sailors as a ‘gift’ to Britain
Blair says he bears ‘no ill will’; Syria claims it provided ‘quiet diplomacy’
Many things, to be sure, including the internal dynamics at play inside Iran. However as Patrick Cockburn points outs, "The attempt by the US to seize two senior Iranian security officers openly meeting with Iraqi leaders is somewhat as if Iran had tried to kidnap the heads of the CIA and MI6 while they were on an official visit to a country neighbouring Iran such as Pakistan or Afghanistan...
Better understanding of the seriousness of the US action in Arbil -- and the angry Iranian response to it -- should have led Downing Street and the Ministry of Defence to realise that Iran was likely to retaliate against American or British forces such as highly vulnerable navy search parties in the Gulf."
The Botched Raid on Arbil
US's Bungled Plan to Kidnap Iran's Top Spook Prompted Hostage Taking
It doesn't help either that the US has been waging a not-so-secret War against Iran.
