I agree.......They were U.S. military forces in another country's territorial waters without permission and the Iranians had every right to board and seize but not to propagandize. And while our boats had the weaponry and firepower to fend off the Iranians, what would be the global ramifications of such an act be? You don't sail into another country's waters then get into a naval fire fight with them.
What would be the U.S.'s response to such boats manned by Chinese in US waters off the coast of San Diego?
I don’t see how they could have accidentally got into Iranian territory.
I have a refurbished Garmin in my car and it is never off, not even a hundred yards off. It even tells me if I turn and it tells me immediately.
I suspect the Navy has more than a $25 unit.
Not so simple in the Middle East. How exactly did the US sailors know for sure that the guys in the speedboats weren't ISIS freelancers or Somali style pirates? Or some guys with a boat full of explosives like the terrorists that attacked the USS Cole.
I would say in many parts of the world you deny even close proximity to any vessel unless you know that it is either friendly, or you have agreed to allow it to approach.
In this instance, since the story about a disabled boat or boats seems to be fiction, any US sailors on those boats who suspected they were in Iranian waters could just drive away - pretty much any direction but North East in the case of Farsi Island. In a boat that can travel close to 50 mph they would have been in international waters in minutes, even if they could see the island.
Even if the Iranians were annoyed, just what would they have been able to do to a boat headed for international waters with a 50 caliber machine gun pointed at them? Their Boston Whalers would probably not be able to close the distance to the US boats anyway.
The more I learn the less of the story seems plausible.