After Third Rescue Of Fishermen, Iran Calls U.S. Presence In Gulf Part Of "Permanent Presence"

After warning the U.S. to stay the heck out of the Arabian Sea and threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz, Iran is now claiming that our presence there is business as usual. Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps said:

“U.S. warships and military forces have been in the Arabian Gulf and the Middle East region for many years and their decision in relation to the dispatch of a new warship is not a new issue and it should be interpreted as part of their permanent presence,” IRGC Deputy Commander Hossein Salami told the official IRNA news agency.

Maybe it's because we've saved their butts three times in the past few weeks. The first time, the U.S. Navy aided a group of fishermen who had been held captive by pirates. Then a few days later a Coast Guard cutter rescued 6 Iranian merchant marines on a cargo ship with a flooded engine room. They were fed a halal meal and sent on their way.  The latest U.S. Navy to the rescue episode was in the Gulf of Oman after a helicopter from the USS Dewey came upon some fishermen in distress. Apparently one of their dhows was sinking after battling their flooded vessel for 3 days. The Al Mamsoor was being towed by another fishing boat and the crew were in need of food and water. Our guys gave them water, supplies and 150 pounds of food.

I guess the above IRGC statement is as close to a thank you we'll ever get from the Iranian regime. 

But this is who we are- coming to the aid of those in need, regardless of who they are.