Iran's antagonism toward a commercial cargo ship is a sign the U.S. should walk away from its controversial nuclear-arms talks with the Middle East nation, says former Rep. Allen West, president of the National Center for Public Analysis.
"This is very disconcerting and this is why we should not be setting up a negotiating table with Iran because nothing about their behavior has changed," West said Thursday on "The Steve Malzberg Show" on
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The U.S. Navy plans to start accompanying U.S. commercial ships sailing through the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Persian Gulf to guarantee they encounter no interference from Iran.
The policy comes after Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps' vessels fired warning shots near a Marshall Islands-flagged cargo ship in international waters, forced it into Iranian waters and detained its crew earlier this week. Iran says the vessel's shipping line owes it money from a lawsuit.
"They boarded a Marshall Islands flagship, which is under a security arrangement agreement with the USA … [and] they did that in international waters," West said.
"We should cease those negotiations and demand that ship, its cargo and its crew be safely escorted out of Iranian waters.
"We should establish a Navy picket line, right there along the edge of the Iranian waters to make sure that none of their patrol craft, none of their Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Navy vessels can get out into international waters. That's the message that you have to send."
West also said the United States should also immediately demand the release of three Americans it is holding in custody — Pastor Saeed Abedini, U.S. Marine Amir Hekmati, and Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian.
"They understand forcefulness, strength, but right now if we continue to sit at a table with Iran after what they have done, then that shows that we are appeasing the most abhorrent behavior," West said.
Earlier this month, the U.S. and Iran jointly announced that they had reached a "framework" agreement to limit Iran's ability to build nuclear weapons.
West's group, the National Center for Public Analysis, describes itself as a "nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy research organization that develops and promotes private, free-market alternatives to government regulation and control."
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