Iran frees U.S. sailors captured in Persian Gulf

Iran frees U.S. sailors captured in Persian Gulf



This picture released by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Jan. 13, 2016, shows detained American Navy sailors in an undisclosed location in Iran.
AP





Last Updated Jan 13, 2016 5:59 AM EST

WASHINGTON -- Ten U.S. Navy sailors taken into custody by Iran after their two small boats drifted into Iranian waters were released Wednesday, a day after their detention, according to the U.S. military and Iranian state media.

CBS News correspondent Charlie D'Agata said Iran accused them of trespassing, and was demanding an apology before releasing them earlier Wednesday. The BBC reported that the U.S. government had issued an apology to Iran, but U.S. officials had not confirmed that to CBS News.

Multiple Iranian news outlets quoted a statement from the Iranian RevolutionaryGuard as saying all 10 U.S. personnel had been released.


Two U.S. Navy riverine gun-boats patrol during the International Mine Countermeasures Exercise (IMCMEX) at the Middle East Gulf, in this May 13, 2013 file photo.
REUTERS



"Our technical investigations showed the two U.S. Navy boats entered Iranian territorial waters inadvertently," state television quoted the IRGC statement as saying. "They were released in international waters after they apologized."

The Pentagon released a statement confirming their release.

"Ten U.S. Navy Sailors safely returned to U.S. custody today, after departing Iran. There are no indications that the Sailors were harmed during their brief detention," said the U.S. military statement, adding that the 10 had been transfered ashore and other American sailors had taken over the two small boats and carried on to the original intended destination of Bahrain.

"The Navy will investigate the circumstances that led to the Sailors' presence in Iran," said the statement.


CBS



The navy chief of the powerful Iranian Revolutionary Guard said earlier Wednesday that the American boats showed "unprofessional acts" for 40 minutes before being picked up by Iranian forces after entering the country's territorial waters.

The navy chief, Gen. Ali Fadavi, confirmed on state TV earlier Wednesday that the Guard had been holding the crew and their two small boats. The nine men and one woman were held at an Iranian base on Farsi Island in the Persian Gulf.

D'Agata reported the American sailors were said to have been interrogated Wednesday morning by Revolutionary Guard forces on Farsi Island.

The Reuters news agency said it was an American aircraft carrier that Fadavi had accused of acting "provocatively and unprofessionally" for 40 minutes by carrying out maneuvers in the Gulf after Iran detained the 10 sailors.





Pentagon: 2 U.S. Navy boats in custody of Iranian military

Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook told The Associated Press that the Riverine boats were moving between Kuwait and Bahrain when the U.S. lost contact with them.

U.S. officials said the incident happened near Farsi Island, which sits in the middle of the Gulf. They said some type of mechanical trouble with one of the boats caused them to drift into Iranian territorial waters near the island, and they were picked up by Iran.

Favadi is quoted by the French news agency AFP as saying the mechanical problem was with a navigation system "and the issue is being resolved."

The incident came amid heightened tensions with Iran, and only hours before President Obama was to deliver his final State of the Union address.





Iran says Washington Post journalist convicted of spying

It set off a dramatic series of calls and meetings as U.S. officials tried to determine the exact status of the crew and reach out to Iranian leaders.

Secretary of State John Kerry, who forged a personal relationship with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif through three years of nuclear negotiations, called Zarif immediately on learning of the incident, according to a senior U.S. official. Kerry was assured by Zarif that the sailors would be allowed to continue their journey, CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports.

Fadavi confirmed on state television that Kerry and Zarif had spoken, but added, "Zarif took a firm stance (with Kerry) as the sailors had violated Iran's territorial waters and asked the United States for an apology," according to Reuters.

Kerry learned of the incident around 12:30 p.m. EST as he and Defense Secretary Ash Carter were meeting their Filipino counterparts at the State Department, the senior U.S. official told the AP.

Officials said the sailors were part of Riverine Squadron 1 based in San Diego and were deployed to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet in Bahrain.

"We have been in contact with Iran and have received assurances that the crew and the vessels will be returned promptly," Cook said late Tuesday, U.S. time.

But a spokesman for Iran's Revolutionary Guard then "dismissed talk of the prompt release," Reuters reports, citing the Tasnim news agency.

"What others say about the sailors' prompt release is their speculation, and I don't confirm or deny it," Ramazan Sharif, the Guard's spokesman, told the Tasnim agency Wednesday, Reuters says.

When the U.S. lost contact with the boats, ships attached to the USS Harry S Truman aircraft carrier strike group began searching the area, along with aircraft flying off the Truman.

Officials said a radio signal from one of the boats showed that they were on Farsi Island, setting off efforts to contact the Iranians. The Riverine boats were not part of the carrier strike group, and were on a training mission as they traveled between Kuwait and Bahrain, officials said.

The Riverine boats are not considered high-tech and don't contain any sensitive equipment, so there were no concerns about the Iranians gaining access to the crafts.

The officials were not authorized to discuss the sensitive incident publicly so spoke on condition of anonymity.

Republican lawmakers seized on the incident as further evidence that Iran is not to be trusted. The House was scheduled to vote Wednesday on Republican-backed legislation that would give Congress greater oversight of the landmark Iran nuclear agreement, which Republicans have derided as a victory for Tehran.

Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte said it was "unthinkable that the administration would lift sanctions and permit Iran to receive billions of dollars in sanctions relief under the nuclear agreement, even as the regime brazenly violates its international obligations and rushes to develop the ballistic missile capability to deliver a potential nuclear weapon to the United States."

The incident came on the heels of an incident in late December when Iranlaunched a rocket test near U.S. warships and boats passing through the Strait of Hormuz.



Meanwhile, Iran was expected to satisfy the terms of last summer's nuclear deal in just days. Once the U.N. nuclear agency confirms Iran's actions to roll back its program, the United States and other Western powers are obliged to suspend wide-ranging oil, trade and financial sanctions on Tehran. Kerry recently said the deal's implementation was "days away."