Iran just poked another bear, and the terrorist nation could be biting off just a bit more than they are capable of chewing.
While attending a memorial service, UK’s ambassador to Iran, Robert Macaire, was arrested and detained, a completely illegal act on the part of Iran.
Rising Tensions
Obviously, everyone has their eyes on Iran right now to see if they are willing to take things further after the strike against the Iraqi military base.
The United States has put a chokehold on the Iranian economy, adding additional sanctions at the end of this week.
Iran has tried to get the United States to back off, claiming its strike on the base was meant to take out equipment, not troops.
Internationally, the response has been surprisingly pro-Iran.
Even though Soleimani was a known terrorist, some of our allies have spoken out against Trump for taking out Soleimani solely because he was a general.
With sentiment and the media behind Iran, the country made a major misstep by arresting a UK diplomat.
Iran has always been criticized for how it treats protesters, so this incident is bound to draw more ire for the Iranian leadership.
According to Macaire, he was merely attending a vigil for the victims of the downed Ukraine airliner when he was arrested.
He said that he was only there for a few minutes and left when the crowd started to chant.
Regardless, this man is a diplomat and arresting him is illegal, period…
2/2
Detained half an hour after leaving the area. Arresting diplomats is of course illegal, in all countries. See comments by Foreign Secretary @DominicRaab. https://t.co/djpr99iSwI— Rob Macaire (@HMATehran) January 12, 2020
The U.S. State Department has already issued a response, with Morgan Ortagus stating, “We call on the regime to formally apologize to the UK for violating his rights and to respect the rights of all diplomats.”
On Sunday, Iran’s foreign minister responded to the incident via Twitter…
He wasn't detained, but arrested as unknown foreigner in an illegal gathering. When police informed me a man's arrested who claims to be UK Amb, I said IMPOSSIBLE! only after my phone conversation w him I identified, out of big surprise, that it's him. 15 min later he was free. pic.twitter.com/VjuZxN1oTN
— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) January 12, 2020
For a country on the verge of economic collapse, Iran cannot afford to piss off another major power.
However, every time something like this happens, it just ends up making Democrats look more and more foolish for sticking up for the country in the first place.
