“There are no indications that the Sailors were harmed during their brief detention”, said the us military statement, adding that the 10 had been transferred ashore and other American sailors had taken over the two small boats and carried on to the original intended destination of Bahrain.
Advertisement
Iran released 10 U.S. sailors on Wednesday after holding them overnight, bringing a swift end to an incident that had rattled nerves days ahead of the expected implementation of a landmark nuclear accord between Tehran and world powers.
IRGC Naval Commander Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi told state television in an interview that a US aircraft carrier in the Gulf had acted “provocatively and unprofessionally” for 40 minutes by carrying out air and sea manoeuvres after Iran arrested the American sailors. The nine men and one woman were held at an Iranian base on Farsi Island in the Persian Gulf.
In a statement, the U.S. Navy confirmed the release of the sailors and the two boats from Iranian custody.
Meanwhile, the Navy will conduct in an investigation into the incident.
Another U.S. official said mechanical issues may have disabled one of the boats, leading to a situation in which both ships drifted inadvertently into Iranian waters.
American officials did not dispute that the vessels appeared to have been in Iranian territorial waters when they were intercepted.
Iranian officials interrogated the sailors for hours about their motives, trying to ascertain whether they “entered Iranian waters intentionally on an intelligence mission”, according to the IRGC.
USA officials said that the incident happened near Farsi Island in the middle of the Gulf.
Iran’s armed forces chief, Major General Hassan Firouzabadi, said the incident should demonstrate Iranian strength to “troublemakers” in the U.S. congress, which has sought to put pressure on Iran after the nuclear deal.
The drama unfolded 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. It set off a dramatic series of calls and meetings as US officials tried to determine the exact status of the crew and reach out to Iranian leaders. Once on board, they were given an initial medical evaluation and were flown to the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman. The boats were on a trip from Kuwait to Bahrain when the wandered near Iran’s Farsi island.
The incident came on the heels of an incident in late December when Iran launched a rocket test near USA warships and boats passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
Press TV, the Iranian state-run broadcaster, reported that Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister, had discussed the issue with John Kerry, the USA secretary of state, and “adopted a strong and firm stance”.
Advertisement
Schreck reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
