IN CASE YOU MISSED THIS INCIDENT

Last Wednesday , the Islamic regime in Iran arrested (they claim "detained") the Swiss Ambassador to Iran, 47-year old Livia Leu Agosti, the first female ambassador to that country since the 1979 revolt by Khomeini.

She was on a three day trip to the North Eastern province of Khorrassan. Agosti was detained on Wednesday by provincial security forces "because her identity was not established at the time," said the website of Press TV, the Iranian channel in English, citing "informed sources".

Diplomats, specially senior ones, are issued with Special Identity cards by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs so unless she was trying to remain unidentified this comment is pure nonsense.

The Swiss embassy in Tehran has represented the interests of the United States in Iran since the two arch foes broke off ties in the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic revolution. .

She had cleared her trip to a village in North Khorrassan with the Foreign Ministry so this turned out to be a "mini-U.S. Embassy" hostage take-over by provincial security officials - probably aggravated by her being a woman - and inconceIvable as an Ambassador!

While the arrest took place on Wednesday, the announcement only came on Saturday, so she was qjite likely "detained" for several days and not the "a few hours" they claim. The untold story has yet to emerge.

The hint for this possibility comes from the apparent power struggle between the provincial officials with Tehran authorities over keeping her "detained" with Tehran finally winning.

Khorrassan Province, capital city Mashhad, where Imam Reza, the Saint of Miracles lies buried, has been split into three provinces since the revolution and has conflicting power players in charge.

Although Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, a former beggar in Mashhad's cemeteries hails from there (and now lives a very high lifestyle on the backs of the Iranian populace - a bit like Chicago thug Obama over here and his $140 per pound, buttery Japanese Kobe steaks paid for by the taxpayers) the split among the clergy and the paramilitary IRGC (Revolutionary Guards), with the latter wielding much more power than ever before, invites incidents and power struggles like this.