Noting that the two American boats were carrying light and semi-heavy weapons, the statement added, “after transferring and relocating the detained marines at IRGC navy base, probes were made into the reasons for the unauthorized entry at the same time that USA political officials were holding frequent contacts with Iranian authorities to ensure the passage had been unintentional and therefore asking for their release”.
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Confirming the sailors’ safe release, the Pentagon said there were no indications they were harmed while in Iranian custody.
The nine men and one woman were held at an Iranian base on Farsi Island after they were detained nearby on Tuesday.
Earlier Wednesday, General Ali Fadavi, a naval commander for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, nevertheless accused the US military of acting in an “unprofessional” manner.
The statement also said the Navy would “investigate the circumstances that led to the Sailors’ presence in Iran”.
Behind the scenes, the Navy was embarrassed by the snafu, and pledged an investigation into how the world’s highest-tech navy could let two of its vessels fall into Iranian hands in the middle of one of the world’s most troubled bodies of water.
USA and Iranian officials scrambled to defuse the situation, which unfolded as Iran prepares to finally implement a nuclear deal with world powers aimed at ending the Islamic republic’s long global isolation. “This was just standard nautical practice”. Kerry recently said the deal’s implementation was “days away”.
Iran’s foreign minister called for the United States to apologize for the “encroachment” of American vessels into Iranian territorial waters, an Iranian navy official told state-run media.
Iran’s influential Revolutionary Guard – tasked with protecting the country’s 1979 Islamic revolution – has strongly defended Iranian sea borders in the past.
Earlier Wednesday, an Iranian admiral said the standoff “is being resolved”, after officials concluded that the boats entered Iran’s waters accidentally. In July, the two countries, along with others, reached a landmark deal to allow Iran to expand its nuclear power sector.
The sailors were in Iranian custody on Farsi Island at least for some time, but it’s not certain where they are now.
But the incident in the Gulf came as President Barack Obama gave his last State of the Union address, undermining any attempt to cite closer relations with Tehran as part of his legacy.
Sharif said Iran was questioning the sailors and would take “necessary measures” if it is determined they were in Iranian waters to gather intelligence.
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Members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards seized Global Positioning System gear from the sailors that it said would “prove” the USA patrol craft were “trespassing”. According to officials, upon losing contact with the low-tech boats, ships and aircraft attached to the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier were deployed and began searching the area.
