Hmmm....email? Makes me think that the State Department wanted this to be known. I mean, this could be due to incompetence, but that almost seems more incredulous at this point. Anyone that works at the State Department (Trump appointee or not) should know that emails will more than likely get out and that you never leave a paper trail like this. Hmmm.....
Yeah, I think they want it to be known, so other ship captains can start fantasizing about what they'll spend their millions on. That Indian captain is probably kicking himself right now for thinking the email was a scam in the first place. On the flip side, now Iran knows we're doing this and maybe take steps to make sure their captains stay loyal/professional.
If they want to publicize something, they have twitter... Leaving a paper trail behind only seems useful if they want some ambiguity vis-a-vis their goals or publicizing something on the down low or to troll liberals. Seems like the only result from the above options is that it ended up making State dept look kinda dumb. Is this really going to reduce Iran's labour pool of captains? How small is this pool that emails to 10 of them will make a dent. Must be pretty lucrative that no one has taken this bribe yet. 3D chess, I'm sure. Next time, instead of a phone number in an email, send a jet fighter with words in the back: "check your spam folder, captain" I wouldn't blame the captain for not dealing with Trump admin. Plus I'm sure there are a bunch of crew members bribed by Iran that are making sure the route is right.
1. There might be some professional pride involved in lot losing the cargo and ship you've been entrusted with. 2. They might not like or trust the US too much. 3. They might fear the Revolutionary Guard.
My thought process was more along the lines of the State department (or those in charge of it) seeing if this would antagonize Iranian leaders into doing something that could start a conflict. Basically seems like a lot of “poking the beast” lately going on in regards to Iran.
If it was anyone else, I'd say they were engaging in self deprecating humor, but with him, you never know.
Was she saying this tongue in cheek? Ivanka tells donors she got her moral compass from her dad https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/13/ivanka-trump-donors-1488704
