Iranian naval authorities have released 10 USA sailors who unwittingly strayed into the Islamic Republic’s territorial waters in the Persian Gulf.
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As soon as word got out that the Americans were being held by Iranians, critics in Washington angrily accused President Barack Obama of weak foreign policy.
In the video, the sailor is asked whether Global Positioning System showed they penetrated Iranian territorial water and he replied, “I believe so”.
American sailors pictured on a boat with their hands on their heads at an unknown location in this still image taken from a recent video.
The U.S. Navy has initial statements from the sailors but is now conducting a full debrief, so additional information may come to light, the official said.
Kerry thanked Iran for its cooperation in the release of the sailors. He said “we just don’t know yet” whether it was a “combination of factors” that led to the riverine boats moving into Iranian waters.
USA officials are now ruling out mechanical fault aboard the two small patrol boats, which were apprehended by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards while en route from Kuwait to Bahrain.
It is still not clear who chose to release the sailors.
Reuters, citing the Univision interview, quotes Carter as saying that “the sailors apparently did not radio in to tell US commanders they were off-course before encountering the Iranians”.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Friday (January 15) that if the administration had followed the advice of its critics, the USA would probably be at war with Iran. Other footage showed the sailors seated on the floor inside a room, where they were served a meal.
It had been suggested that the revolutionary guard, which is controlled by Iran’s supreme leader and is separate from the government-controlled Iranian military, is attempting to sabotage Tehran’s nuclear deal with the USA and Europe, according to a Financial Times report.
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Less than a day after 10 U.S. Navy sailors were detained in Iran when their boats drifted into Iranian waters, they and their vessels were back safely Wednesday with the American fleet. “They were released in worldwide waters after they apologized”, it added.
