Tehran

Just days after two US Navy boats and ten sailors were seized at Farsi Island ahead of President Obama's state-of-the-union address and just days before Tehran will see international sanctions lifted as part of the "historic" nuclear accord, four US hostages have been freed in a prisoner swap between Washington and Tehran.

Among the detainees is Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian who was famously held for spying after being convicted in a shadowy trial last year and faced up to 20 years in an Iranian prison.

On Tuesday evening, just prior to President Obama’s last State of the Union address, a geopolitical black swan landed on Farsi Island.

Ten US sailors and two US Navy boats were seized by Iran when they purportedly entered Iranian waters “illegally.”

The timing couldn’t have been worse.

Tensions were already running high between Tehran and Washington in the wake of Iran's move to test-fire a next generation surface-to-surface ballistic missile with the range to hit Israel. 

And then the IRGC conducted a live-fire rocket test within 1,500 yards of a US aircraft carrier in the Strait of Hormuz. 

Now, in a further escalation, Iran has reportedly seized two US Navy ships. 

Late last month, amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran, Iran conducted a live-fire exercise in the Strait of Hormuz in close proximity to the USS Harry Truman, one of Ash Carter’s fleet of aircraft carriers.

The US called the incident a “provocation” as the rockets landed a mere 1,500 yards from two US ships.

“It’s not as if you have an Iranian alternative. And if you have no alternative, your best choice is to stop complaining about the Saudis.”

That’s a quote from a “senior Gulf Arab official” who spoke to The New York Times about Washington's position on the sectarian strife playing out across the Mid-East.

As a refresher, an already volatile situation took a decisive turn for the worst over the weekend when Saudi Arabia executed Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, sparking outrage across the Shiite community.