Fadavi said Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif “had a firm stance” during a telephone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry “on their presence in our territorial waters and said they should not have come and should apologize”.
Advertisement
Multiple Iranian news outlets quoted a statement from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as saying all 10 us personnel had been released.
“The statement said the Americans had pledged not to repeat the mistake, adding, “…the arrested American Marines were released into global waters under IRGC Navy vessels’ watch”.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard had detained 10 U.S. Navy sailors after two small Riverine boats crossed into Iranian territorial waters – and released them Wednesday morning. The incident occurred near Farsi Island, where the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has a naval base.
United States officials had said one or both of the boats experienced mechanical problems and they had been taken to Farsi Island, which lies roughly midway between Iran and Saudi Arabia in the Gulf and houses a base of the Guards, which has its own naval units.
The IRGC ultimately determined that the sailors’ entry was not intentional, the corps said.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter also said he was “pleased” the sailors were back in US hands, thanking Kerry for his diplomatic efforts to secure their release.
The incident threatened to be a key test for Iran-U.S. relations following a nuclear deal in which the U.S. and other world powers agreed to lift worldwide sanctions in return for Iran reducing its nuclear program.
He said the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier made provocative “maritime and aerial” moves after the USA sailors were seized Tuesday.
“There is no truth in reporting that Secretary (of State John) Kerry apologized to the Iranians”, Kerry spokesman John Kirby told reporters Wednesday, later tweeting that the claim had “zero” validity.
US officials said they were picked up near Farsi Island, and the Pentagon said Wednesday they left the island in the same two boats before being taken ashore by Navy aircraft. While Obama may not address this matter, he will certainly praise the Iran nuclear deal.
The sailors departed the island at 0843 GMT aboard the boats they were detained with, the Navy said.
The US Navy issued a statement after Iranian state media announced the sailors had been freed. They were escorted by Iranian boats, which turned back when they reached the rendezvous point in global waters.
There was “no indications that the sailors were harmed during their brief detention”, US Fifth Fleet said in a separate statement to The New York Times.
Advertisement
Otherwise, “they probably would have been kept a few more days”, Hertling said.
