Surprise ending?

Once again, the situation of the UK marines held hostage in Iran dominated the headlines of the major newspapers, this time focusing on news of their release. The papers give explanations of the diplomatic manoeuvring that led to the release, as well as some speculation of a secret deal made between the Iranians and Britain. There was also reporting on the theatrical elements of Ahmadinejad's statements. All the newspapers also carried leaders relating to the hostage situation. The Guardian and The Independent treated the ending as positive, while the Daily Telegraph referred to it as a humiliation for the UK. A commentary by Addas Edalat in The Guardian refers to the possibility of the US learning from the diplomacy involved in the hostages' release.

The REALITY is that negotiations took place and concessions were extracted from the West. The subsequent release itself was a "gift" by which the West was wrongfooted because it did not expect it to happen . . . not because it had not been told this would happen.