IRAN; A MERE NUISANCE.

The rescuing by United States sailors of the crew of an Iranian fishing vessel makes a benign observation of a malignant situation easy.

In that, Iran's objective to dominate the Persian Gulf defies common sense, as it cannot deal with an issue that involves its own citizens, and it takes Americans to free a registered Iranian fishing vessel and its crew at sea.

Only early this week, the Iranian threat to U.S. Aircraft carriers not plying the Gulf was an act of war by Iran, which should know that such warning was contrary to all International Maritime Laws, and that it could have taken the captain of the USS John C. Stennis, as a precautionary measure, to sink the Iranian frigate from where the warning came.

The U.S. fleet was there for a good reason to ensure the free passage of ships mainly carrying oil in the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow stretch of sea, that Iran wanted to close.

The "closure" was the second act of war by Iran; but it (Iran) has put that off for the obvious fact that it would be forced to deal with the consequences, even if it only attempted to follow up with closing the Strait of Hormuz.

Piracy has become a daily occurrence in that part of the world by Somalian citizens, whose country has no laws of any kind, and so conditions there have become extremely difficult, they would take to the high seas and would detain other nationalities for money.

That should be what the Iranian Army and Navy were to be doing something about, to make the area safe for all ships and ordinary people doing business there.

However, instead of being a law abiding country, Iran was breaking International law, and provoking the U.S. to take drastic action in response to the threats from Tehran.

"The Pentagon today answered an Iranian warning to keep U.S. aircraft carriers out of the Persian Gulf by declaring that American warships will continue regularly scheduled deployments to the strategic waterway," The statement has added that, "a constant state of high vigilance," was needed there "to ensure the flow of sea commerce." (Richmond Times-Dispatch 01/07/12).

Iran was playing with fire that could engulf the region and affect the rest of the world. By indulging in such a dangerous confrontation with a super power, as the U.S., it was putting its citizens at an unnecessary risk.

It would be fair for the U.N. to release the strictest warning through the Security Council to Iran, to immediately stop its activities of war exercises that were nothing, but mere saber rattling, which did not have any effect on the U.S. presence in the area; and that Iran was just being a nuisance, by putting up a meaningless "stupid show of strength" and thus disturbing world peace.

Iran must take heed.