A U.S. Navy sailor who was among ten briefly taken into custody by Iranian authorities Tuesday was shown on state television apologizing for entering the country’s territory.
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The boats, along with 10 USA sailors, were seized by the ultra-conservative revolutionary guard after at least one of the vessels allegedly suffered mechanical difficulties and drifted into Iranian waters before running aground on Farsi Island.
Delivering a speech on United States foreign policy, Mr Kerry said the peaceful resolution was a “testament to the critical role that diplomacy plays” in keeping the USA safe. No, and there was no looking for any apology.
This is in stark contrast from what USA officials revealed about the situation.
White House chief of staff Denis McDonough says he’s hesitant to draw big lessons from the incident about the state of U.S.-Iran relations.
One of the boats began to have its engine “run roughly” during the transit from Kuwait to Bahrain, according to the details of what the crew has said.
What is the likelihood that all Global Positioning System devices on board both US vessels were inoperable?
Kerry learned of the incident around 12:30 p.m. EST as he and Defence Secretary Ash Carter were meeting their Filipino counterparts at the State Department, the official said.
US Vice President Joe Biden has rejected reports that the US government offered Iran an official apology over the incident, saying there was nothing to apologise for.
Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported that the boats were “rescued” by Iranian navy sailors.
Officials said a radio signal from one of the boats showed that they were on Farsi Island, setting off efforts to contact the Iranians. “This was just standard nautical practice”.
Iran released 10 USA sailors it had detained after their boats strayed into Iranian waters, easing frictions that have intensified ahead of the implementation of the July nuclear accord. “So that’s what I said, there’s linkages to the nuclear deal and how Iran performs on the other portfolios”, said King Abdullah II of Jordan. “Around the world, the U.S. Navy routinely provides assistance to foreign sailors in distress, and we appreciate the timely way in which this situation was resolved”, Carter said.
Boroujerdi further stressed that when Iranian forces show such a reaction to a superpower like the U.S., they (certain regional states) should be cautious not to make the same mistakes.
American officials said they had received assurances from Iran that the crews would be allowed to sail onwards come first light.
The landmark deal, signed in July previous year, calls for Iran to limit its nuclear activities in return for the lifting of crippling global sanctions.
Tapper also reminded Earnest that Iran recently fired upon an American warship and test-fired a ballistic missile.
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The Navy is investigating the incident.
