This was no friendly maritime assist by Iran. It was a coordinated humiliation of Barack Obama by a regime that has embarrassed the president at every turn.

Ten American military personnel were arrested and detained by Iran on Tuesday, and President Barack Obama said not a word about it during his final State of the Union address on Tuesday evening.

His administration swore up and down that Iran was just doing a solid for our sailors and Marines, whose boats, we are told, had apparently broken down. Obama’s spokesman said the capture and detention of American servicemen and servicewomen were exactly why we had to lift sanctions on Iran and bless its enrichment of uranium. His surrogates whispered to media allies that rather than provoking the Iranians to attack the U.S., Obama’s nuclear deal really made it possible for the U.S. to free its captured personnel who never should have been in Iranian custody in the first place.

The Obama administration gave us its word that Iran had no “hostile intent” when it captured ten Americans, forced their surrender at gunpoint, and then demanded an American apology for the whole affair.

And then Iran released these photos of the nine men and one woman who were arrested at sea by the Iranians.

"We do not see this as hostile intent. They've been well treated." – WH senior official last night. pic.twitter.com/UYUA9PdYRL



Jimmy (@JimmyPrinceton) January 13, 2016

#Video First moments of arresting the #USA navy sailors by #Iran IRGC militia and seizing their boats in the Gulf.. pic.twitter.com/wNBrcC9vQD



Rami (@RamiAlLolah) January 13, 2016

Admin defenders who bent over backwards to pretend this was just a friendly misunderstanding should be ashamed. pic.twitter.com/HdKO28Dbsw



Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) January 13, 2016

The Iranian humiliation of Barack Obama is now complete. Operation Whatever-The-Farsi-Word-Is-For-BOHICA was a success. This was no friendly maritime assist from an American ally. It was a coordinated public relations coup from a violent regime that wished to humiliate the very president who in just days will bless the transfer of tens of billions of dollars to the terrorists in charge of Iran’s government.

The Obama administration told us it was just two friendly countries helping each other with a broken boat. The Obama administration told us there was no “hostile intent.” The Obama administration told us no apology was demanded.

None of it was true. Our military personnel were captured, forced to surrender on their knees, and photographed. Their images were then broadcast to the world on Wednesday morning by the Iranian regime, a clear violation of the Geneva Conventions. The American woman who was captured was forced to submit to Islamic law and don a hijab. State-run Iranian media announced that the whole affair was meant to be a “lesson” to “troublemakers” in the U.S. Congress.

And the presidential administration of Barack Obama went right along with the whole charade.

The Iranians have this man pegged. They know he’s so desperate for a deal, any deal, to bless Iran’s enrichment of uranium and transfer billions to its terrorist-funding government, that he will say and do anything to make sure it happens. Iran knows how desperately this man craves a deal. He will stop at nothing to make sure it happens.

Iran knows this. So how does Iran respond? By declaring “Death to America.” By conducting forbidden tests of nuclear-capable ballistic missiles. By capturing American military personnel, holding them at gunpoint, forcing them onto their knees, blindfolding them, and parading their visages all over TV for all the world to see.

Iran does this because Iran knows that at this point in his presidency, a nuclear deal is far more important to Barack Obama than anything else. So Iran will inflict one last humiliation upon the man before extracting $100 billion from him four days from now.

It wasn’t enough to make him bow down. Iran wanted Obama on his knees. Iran wanted him and the country he governs humiliated before a global audience.

Unfortunately, Iran got exactly what it wanted. The Iranian humiliation of Barack Obama is now complete.