The swift release of American sailors who had entered Iranian waters was hailed by many as a sign of the improved relations between Iran and the United States. Critics, however, believe "improved" is the wrong word. 

As Al-Monitor's Laura Rozen reported Jan. 13, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif spoke on the phone five times over the course of 10 hours Jan. 12 to secure the sailors' release.

The incident has dominated Iranian newspapers. The last time foreign sailors were taken by Iran was in 2007 when 15 British sailors were held for 13 days. With the implementation of the nuclear deal and the removal of sanctions expected to be announced within days, the fate of 10 American sailors in the hands of the hard-line Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) could have turned into a long and costly crisis. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and US President Barack Obama both have invested heavily in the nuclear negotiations, and each has paid a price at home in their pursuit.

Iran Newspaper, which operates under the Rouhani administration, wrote a detailed account of the incident, covering the Kerry-Zarif consultations and the gratitude of American officials in resolving the issue in a timely manner.