But Carter said the sailors never reported their navigational error to the Navy.
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The crew, operating two small Navy Riverine boats, was on a routine trip between Kuwait and Bahrain when the Iranians approached and eventually boarded the USA vessels, US officials said. State Department spokesman John Kirby said Iran’s treatment of the USA sailors does not fall under the Geneva Convention because “we’re not at war with Iran”.
The 10 U.S. Navy sailors held by Iran were told by their captors to “act happy” while they were being videotaped during their detention, according to a U.S. defense official with access to the latest information about the debriefing of the sailors.
Two others defense officials also said it appears the crew was so involved in fixing the engine that they didn’t realize where they were until the Iranians boats approached them. Nash said he believes Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the decision to release the footage because the group detaining the sailors was the Iranian Republican Guard Navy, which reports directly to Khamenei. “We don’t know that fully yet”.
In a interview with Fusion’s Jorge Ramos, Carter said he was “grateful” the sailors had been returned safely after being detained by Iranian Revolutionary Guard Forces overnight Tuesday.
The 10 Navy sailors were released at 3:43 a.m. ET early Wednesday morning.
“It was a mistake that was our fault, and we apologize for our mistake”, the sailor is shown saying on state television. A Navy investigation will follow.
Still, the incident raised concerns about the way Americans were handled while in Iranian custody. “But I do want to say how good it was of Secretary Kerry and his aggressive work to get those sailors and those folks back so quickly”.
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Kerry said Wednesday that he thanked the Iranians for their cooperation and quick response on the matter, adding that “this is a testament to the critical role diplomacy plays in keeping our country safe”. They ended up in Iranian territorial waters at least 50 miles offshore and were detained by the Iranian military at Farsi Island, which is home to an Iranian naval base.
