There is something fishy about the U.S. government's story about the Iran naval incident
On Tuesday, two U.S. naval vessels were detained by Iran for trespassing in Iranian territorial waters. The original story from the U.S. government suggested that there had been a mechanical failure on one of the boats and, in the words of Joe Biden, it had then "drifted into Iranian waters," where it was detained.
The Intercept is raising a question as to the truthfulness of such a statement, especially now that the United States has changed its story. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Friday morning that the sailors had actually made a "navigational error" that took them into Iran's waters. The Intercept writes:
"What we know for certain is that the storyline of 'mechanical failure' and 'poor U.S. boat in distress' that was originally propagated [...] was complete fiction," The Intercept concludes. Read their full analysis of the event here.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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