The sailors spent Tuesday night in Iranian custody but were released promptly the next day along with their boats and cargo.
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Press secretary Josh Earnest said there’s also not “any reason for anybody to be embarrassed” about photos and video Iran released showing the sailors on their knees with their hands above their heads, or their lieutenant apologizing.
“All indications (were) that our sailors were well taken care of”, Kerry said in an address Wednesday.
Iranian authorities confirmed earlier in a statement that they had been released.
The Iranian regime detained 10 United States sailors to publicly embarrass America, according to retired Navy Capt. Chuck Nash.
“Commanders in the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet in the region became alarmed when the sailors missed a planned check-in call on their radios”, reports CNN.
USA officials communicated with the Iranian government immediately after the crews were detained and the matter came to a resolution.
When the incident was announced, thousands of Americans started debating about the relations among the USA and Iran.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Friday (January 15) that if the administration had followed the advice of its critics, the USA would probably be at war with Iran.
Still, many questions about the incident remained unanswered, including what precisely led the sailors off-course and how they did not realise they were in danger before being detained by Iran.
Iranian state TV has broadcast video in which a U.S. Navy captain apologized for entering Iranian territorial waters in the Persian Gulf, saying it happened by mistake.
Defence officials said the main cause behind the Riverine boats entering Iranian waters was the navigational slip, apparently caused by human error rather than equipment malfunction.
Shortly before noon today the newly-freed sailors used their boats to head towards the U.S. Navy cruiser USS Anzio which was located in worldwide waters just off Iranian territorial waters.
“Secretary of State John Kerry used the personal relationship he has formed with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to work out the crews” release.
In the footage, filmed before the sailors were released on Wednesday, the sailor says: “It was a mistake”.
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“It was a misunderstanding”, the sailor said on the video.
