White House spokesman Josh Earnest on Wednesday said the president is “pleased” that Iran released the 10 sailors but would not comment on reports about Iran’s treatment of the sailors. Farsi Island sits in the Persian Gulf in between Iran and Saudi Arabia, and is fortified by Iranian Revolutionary Guards.
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Vice President Joe Biden said Iran acted like an “ordinary nation”.
“Iran’s capture of these sailors raises serious questions about the Iranian regime and what it will take for the Obama administration to understand that Iran is not a partner in peace”, Pompeo said in a statement.
“I think this administration is willing to stomach just about anything to make sure this deal goes ahead”, Kinzinger said.
Both US and Iranian officials have described the sailors, whose boats may have inadvertently drifted into Iranian waters, as safe and well-treated.
USA version: Boats experienced some sort of mechanical failure between Kuwait and Bahrain and ended up by mistake in Iranian waters.
Secretary of State John Kerry expressed gratitude to Iranian authorities stating “I am appreciative of the quick and appropriate response of Iranian authorities”.
The official, speaking on a conference call with reporters, gave a brief synopsis of the tense hours leading up to the sailors’ release. Kerry “personally engaged with Zarif on this issue to try to get to this outcome”, the official said. He said Kerry was in the middle of a meeting Tuesday with Defense Secretary Ash Carter and the Filipino ministers of defense and foreign affairs when he was alerted.
The sailors, nine men and one woman, were detained for less than a day after the training mission mishap.
State television quoted General Ali Fadavi, the Navy chief of the Revolutionary Guard, saying a mechanical problem in the sailors’ navigation system caused them to enter Iranian waters.
A senior defense official said no distress call was made by the ships.
USA officials said that the incident happened near Farsi Island, situated in the Persian Gulf.
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“Certainly the United States has been concerned of the kind of provocative destabilizing actions that have been a hallmark of Iranian behavior over the last several decades”, Earnest said.
