Ten U.S. sailors and two patrol boats detained by Iran on January 12 and accused of trespassing have been released after Tehran determined they did not deliberately enter Iranian waters.
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Earlier on Wednesday, navy commander of IRGC Ali Fadavi said that the 10 US sailors would be “probably” released since their entry to Iran’s waters was due to technical problems in their naval system.
US sailors are shownn in an undisclosed location in Iran in this handout picture released on the official website of Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps on January 13.
“The Navy will investigate the circumstances that led to the sailors’ presence in Iran”, the statement said, noting that there aren’t any indications that any of them were harmed while in custody.
A US official said the sailors were on board two 38-foot, high-speed vessels called riverine patrol boats, which the US Navy and Marines use to patrol rivers and shorelines. They said some type of mechanical trouble with one of the boats caused them to drift into Iranian territorial waters near the island, and they were picked up by Iran.
The US had been assured that the sailors – said to be nine men and a woman – would be returned “safely and promptly”.
“Ten American sailors have been taken into custody in Iran”, he said in a statement.
Defense chief Ash Carter issued a statement thanking Secretary of State John Kerry “for his diplomatic engagement with Iran to secure our sailors’ swift return”.
As the secretary went to the House chamber for President Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday night, the secretary seemed confident of success, overheard assuring someone that they were going to get the sailors out of Iran. Nearly immediately, Iran promised to release the soldiers and did so early this morning.
The incident comes on the heels of an incident in late December when Iran launched a rocket test near US warships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The Revolutionary Guard is part of Iran’s conservative ruling class, and it opposed the nuclear deal the civilian government negotiated.
Meanwhile, Fadavi told state television Wednesday that a US aircraft carrier in the Gulf had acted “provocatively and unprofessionally” for 40 minutes by carrying out air and sea maneuvers after Iran arrested the American sailors.
The two developed a close working relationship during the nuclear talks, which concluded in July with a deal between Iran and the so-called P5+1 powers of the United States, Britain, China, France, Russia and Germany.
The deal is to be implemented very soon – Kerry has said “in the coming days” – but has been criticized by Obama’s United States opponents as too soft on Tehran. A U.S. official has also confirmed that the servicemen have been freed after being held overnight. Formal implementation of the accord could begin in days following steps Iran agreed to take to curb its nuclear activities.
The organisation frequently stages wargames in the Gulf, which divides Iran from its rival Saudi Arabia and a USA naval base in Bahrain.
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The U.S. sailors pledged “not to repeat the same mistake”, the Iranian guards said in a statement carried on Iranian media.
