the u.k., it enacted a serious response from the leader here. they got some just-released footage saying the swarm of speed boats around the british tanker while helicopters were flying above and members of the guards were rapelling on the dock of the ship wearing ski masks. it was provocative, it was dramatic, it s aggressive and that s exactly what iran wanted everybody to see. they wanted to send the message out to say, if you threaten our interests, we will threaten your interests, and we will make the cost of shipping through the straits of hormuz, through the persian gulf extraordinarily expensive for everybody if they can t sell their oil as well. and we should say right now, there are 23 sailors on board that seized tanker, so something to keep in mind. at the very least, ali,
new today, escalating tensions in the persian gulf. the iranian revolutionary guard releasing what it games is video of its forces in action detaining one of two british tankers yesterday. british officials are now threatening serious sanctions against its reactions and iran saying they detained another tanker in spain. msnbc s ali rusy joining me in iran. folks think this could lead to some sort of terrible miscalculation. hi, alex.
counterpart. aym aman is one of the few countries in the world that has good relations with both the u.s. and tehran and has served as a go-between to resolves standoffs between them. and today the prime minister said that he s going to send a delegation to washington and tehran to help halt tensions. not least of all, because as thousands of u.s. troops in iraq and thousands of iranian militias under tehran s patronage in his country, and the last thing he wants to see is his country become a battlefield, where america and iran settle their scores. so tensions do remain high. chances of talks are very low. but there are indications that there are parties trying to diffuse this really very dangerous situation, where miscalculations are still a very real threat. craig? thank you, ali.
thinks and speaks strategically, but why would the president help evaluate joe biden to front-runner status so early? why not just pretend that joe biden doesn t exist, at least for a few months? i m with you. i don t think there s a strategic rationale here. traditionally, presidents especially during a primary process, adopt this sort of olympian posture where they sit back and scold the field, further the squabbling and portrays himself as very presidential. this is not this president s style. he likes to get down, he likes to get into the mud. and i think that s just instinct chul. i don t think it s indulging in any sort of strategic approach. and it may end up hurting him in the long run, because the classics ensue, just let these guys fight. by evaluate joe biden early, he s evaluating his chief competitor, his most viable competitor. and joe biden s big advantage here is his predictability, as ali was saying, he s sort of a known quantity and donald trump is somebody who stir
iran just announced it is quadrupling its supply of enriched uranium. president trump just threatened, quote, the official end of iran. and right now, behind closed doors, congress is getting a critical briefing on what to expect from all of it. the high-stakes showdown has taken a volatile turn. iranian president hassan rouhani says he is in favor of diplomacy, but, quote, today s situation is not suitable for talks and our choice is resistance only. i want to bring in nbc news tehran bureau chief, ali rusy. also with me now, nbc national security analyst, ned price, he s a former special assistant to president obama. ali, let me start with you on the ground there in tehran. things have seemed to escalate fairly quickly. what are you hearing about the events that led to this showdown? any plans to negotiate going forward? good afternoon, craig.