Ten US sailors who were captured by Revolutionary Guards after entering Iranian waters have been released, soothing tensions during a week in which Iran is expected to receive the first wave of sanctions relief from the landmark nuclear accords.
The US military confirmed the sailors’ release after the Guards issued a statement claiming they were freed into international waters after an apology from Washington.
“We decided to release them after conducting a technical investigation and consultations with our national security officials, and also after establishing that their trespassing into the waters of the Islamic Republic was unintentional and also receiving apology from them,” read the statement published on the Fars news agency, which is affiliated to the Guards. The sailors’ two small navy craft had briefly gone missing on Tuesday while crossing the Gulf from Kuwait to Bahrain. Pentagon sources later said the vessels had entered Iranian waters because of technical difficulties. On Wednesday, the Pentagon said: “Ten US navy sailors safely returned to US custody today, after departing Iran. There are no indications that the sailors were harmed during their brief detention.”“The sailors departed Farsi Island at 8.43am [GMT], aboard the two Riverine Command boats that they had been operating when they lost contact with the US navy. They were later transferred ashore by US navy aircraft.”
The sailors were receiving a medical screening on Wednesday morning aboard the guided missile cruiser USS Anzio, the Pentagon said. They were then expected to be transferred to the aircraft carrier USS Harry S Truman, from where its fixed-wing planes will fly them ashore at an unspecified point for reintegration.
The Iranian claim of an apology was ambiguous. It was not clear if the US secretary of state, John Kerry, had officially apologised during phone communications with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, or whether the apology, if true, had come from the sailors themselves.
Kerry thanked Iran for the swift resolution of the incident. “That this issue was resolved peacefully and efficiently is a testament to the critical role diplomacy plays in keeping our country safe, secure and strong,” he said.
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