The IRGC is harassing American ships for the same reason it captured American sailors back in January. It is also the same reason IRGC forces in Iran have been taking dual Iranian-American and Iranian-British citizens in Iran “hostage,” leading to the recent ransom fiasco. Iran instigates these conflicts with the U.S. to portray strength to its own people. The Islamic Republic’s hardline clerical establishment bases its claim to power on the idea that it is continuing the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The United States is its primary antagonist in this mythologized revolution. No matter what the elected authorities do and no matter how they try to negotiate with the Western world, the clerical establishment is more powerful and continues to exert its strength by confronting the United States.