US Vice President Joe Biden rejected reports Washington had offered Iran an apology over the incident.
Advertisement
“That was our fault and we apologize for our mistake”.
The same Iranian state outlet that produced the sailor’s interview had previously released footage that appeared to show when the sailors were detained aboard their Riverine boats.
United States and Iranian officials were forced to scramble to defuse the situation, which unfolded as the nuclear accord edged toward its final steps, with a top Iranian official saying the deal should be implemented by Sunday.
Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., said it was “unthinkable that the administration would lift sanctions and permit Iran to receive billions of dollars in sanctions relief under the nuclear agreement, even as the regime brazenly violates its global obligations and rushes to develop the ballistic missile capability to deliver a potential nuclear weapon to the United States”.
The Pentagon said there were no indications the sailors were harmed while in Iranian custody.
“The sailors departed Farsi Island at 8:43 a.m. GMT, aboard the two Riverine Command Boats that they had been operating when they lost contact with the U.S. Navy”, the statement said.
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter has welcomed the release of 10 U.S. Navy sailors held overnight by Iran.
Pictures of the USA boats, which had green-and-black camouflage patterns, were also shown. “They were released in global waters after they apologized”, it added.
But Sharif said that was speculation.
Secretary of State John Kerry called Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, with whom he worked closely in last summer’s landmark nuclear negotiations, on Tuesday afternoon to push for quick action.
“Obama’s humiliatingly weak Iran policy is exposed again”, Jeb Bush said in a tweet before the sailors were released. The sailors were picked up by Navy aircrafts and other sailors took control of their boats for the return to Bahrain, the Associated Press reported. The media is full of praise for Obama for letting ten American sailors be taken hostage… and then released.
IRGC Navy commander Adm. Ali Fadevi broadly criticized the USA naval presence in the Persian Gulf, saying such activities “disturbed the security of the area”.
The Guard’s naval forces are heavily dependent on fast-moving armed speedboats that can be used in teams to swarm much larger vessels.
The sailors had reportedly entered Iranian waters after their boats experienced a mechanical failure while making a trip between Kuwait and Bahrain. Iran denied the vessel had done so. The ship and its 24 crew members were released after 10 days. In March 2007, the country held 15 British servicemen for 13 days after seizing them in the Shatt al-Arab waterway separating its boarder from Iraq, in a similar dispute over territory as the one triggering Tuesday’s incident. On each occasion the sailors were released unharmed.
Advertisement
Tension over the deal have remained in the USA, where it is opposed by Republicans, as well as Iran, where it has been opposed by conservative factions including officers of the Revolutionary Guard.
