Three American citizens were arrested in Iran for crossing into their territory illegally. The scenario is the same as that of the two American journalists who crossed into North Korea this year: they were “tourists” (in this case, hikers) crossing illegally into enemy territory. The examples can go on and on. Imagine if they were real tourists — how in the world could they be in an hostile region, knowing that they were putting their lives in danger? I assume that if four hikers from the US go to a mountainous region of a very unstable country such as Iraq, the US embassy would warn them.

This type of behavior gives to the Iranian regime a legitimate claim that the U.S. and the British are the source of protests in their country. How will the US State Department approach Iran and defend its citizens? It seems like every effort to achieve peace with Iran is sabotaged every time. An Iranian American journalist was held a few months ago, accused of spying, but that was before the last protests in Tehran.

Now things are different. The Iranian regime is more allergic than ever to the Americans and British. Nobody knows what the intentions were of these “tourists” but for sure their activities have put the Obama administration in a very bad position.  For sure, the relationship between Iran and the US still has a long and painful way to go. As the Swahili of Tanzania say, “One fire brand after another keeps fire burning.”