Every confrontation with Iran has a phase which is much more important to the Iranians than the physical outcome.
It's the humiliation phase, in which the Iranians get to exploit photos and video showing their opponents as weak and the Iranians as strong.
We saw it throughout the U.S. Embassy hostage drama in 1979-1980, in which the hostages were paraded in front of the cameras and crowds.
The 10 U.S. sailors were released earlier today after Iran seized two small U.S. Navy boats yesterday. Iran demanded an apology and is
claiming it got one, though the U.S. denies that. There is no doubt, however, that the pathetic and delusional John Kerry
openly thanked the Iranians:
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday thanked Iran for its cooperation in the release of 10 sailors who had mistakenly entered Iran's territorial waters, an incident that stoked international tension.