U.S. Navy sailors held by Iran are released with their boats

In this June 27, 2013, photo provided by the U.S. Navy, a Riverine Command Boat transits open water in the Persian Gulf. Iran was holding 10 U.S. Navy sailors and their two boats, similar to the one in this picture, today after the boats had mechanical problems and drifted into Iranian waters. (Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Peter Lewis/U.S. Navy via AP)

ASSOCIATED PRESS
In this June 27, 2013, photo provided by the U.S. Navy, a Riverine Command Boat transits open water in the Persian Gulf. Iran was holding 10 U.S. Navy sailors and their two boats, similar to the one in this picture, today after the boats had mechanical problems and drifted into Iranian waters.

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Detained American Navy sailors are shown in an undisclosed location in Iran in a photo released by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.



TEHRAN, Iran >> All 10 U.S. Navy sailors detained by Iran after drifting into its territorial waters a day earlier have been freed, the U.S. and Iran said Wednesday.
The Navy said the American crewmembers returned safely and there were no indications they had been harmed while in custody.
The nine men and one woman were held at an Iranian base on Farsi Island in the Persian Gulf after they were detained nearby on Tuesday. The tiny outpost has been used as a base for Revolutionary Guard speedboats as far back as the 1980s.
The sailors departed the island at 0843 GMT aboard the boats they were detained with, the Navy said. They were picked up by Navy aircraft and other sailors took control of their boats for the return voyage to Bahrain, where the U.S. 5th Fleet is based.
The Navy added that it “will investigate the circumstances that led to the sailors’ presence in Iran.”
The Revolutionary Guard’s official website published images of the detained U.S. sailors before their release, showing them sitting on the floor of a room. They look mostly bored or annoyed, though at least one of the sailors appears to be smiling. The sole woman had her hair covered by a brown cloth. The pictures also showed what appeared to be their two boats.
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“After determining that their entry into Iran’s territorial waters was not intentional and their apology, the detained American sailors were released in international waters,” a statement posted online by the Guard said Wednesday.
Vice President Joe Biden, speaking later to “CBS This Morning,” denied that Americans made any apology.
“There’s nothing to apologize for,” Biden said. “When you have a problem with the boat you apologize the boat had a problem? No, and there was no looking for any apology. This was just standard nautical practice.”
Gen. Ali Fadavi, the navy chief of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard, was quoted earlier Wednesday by Iranian state TV as saying that an investigation had shown the Americans entered Iranian territorial waters because of “mechanical problems in their navigation system.”
U.S. officials also blamed mechanical trouble for the incident. They had said on Tuesday that Tehran assured them the crew and vessels would be returned safely and promptly.
Fadavi said the American boats had shown “unprofessional acts” for 40 minutes before being picked up by Iranian forces after entering the country’s territorial waters. He said Tehran did not consider the U.S. Navy boats violating Iranian territorial waters as an “innocent passage.”
The sailors were nonetheless allowed to make contact with the U.S. military, based on Iran’s “responsibilities and Islamic mercy” late Tuesday, he said.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who forged a personal relationship with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif during the three years of nuclear negotiations, called his Iranian counterpart immediately on learning of the incident, according to a senior U.S. official. Kerry “personally engaged” with Zarif on the issue, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
Kerry learned of the incident around 12:30 p.m. EST as he and U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter were meeting their Filipino counterparts at the State Department, the official said. Kerry later issued a statement saying he wanted to express his “gratitude to Iranian authorities for their cooperation ?in swiftly resolving this matter.”
Fadavi said Zarif “had a firm stance” during the telephone conversation with Kerry about the sailors’ presence in Iran’s territorial waters and “said they should not have come and should apologize.”
Carter said he was pleased with the sailors’ release and he thanked Kerry for his diplomatic efforts. “Around the world, the U.S. Navy routinely provides assistance to foreign sailors in distress, and we appreciate the timely way in which this situation was resolved,” Carter said.
The Guard’s 200,000-strong force is different from the regular Iranian military and is charged with protecting the ruling system. Its naval forces are heavily dependent on armed speedboats that can be used in teams to swarm much larger vessels.
The incident came amid heightened tensions with Iran, and only hours before President Barack Obama gave his final State of the Union address to Congress and the public. 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.
Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook told The Associated Press late Tuesday U.S. time that the sailors’ boats were moving between Kuwait and Bahrain when the U.S. lost contact with them.
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. 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.
The Riverine boats were not part of the carrier strike group, and were on a training mission, the officials said. The craft are not considered high-tech and don’t contain any sensitive equipment, so there were no concerns about the Iranians gaining access to them, they added. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the sensitive incident publicly.
In an earlier incident, in late December, Iran launched a rocket test near U.S. warships and boats passing through the narrow Strait of Hormuz, the route for about a fifth of the world’s oil.
Last February, Iran sank a replica of a U.S. aircraft carrier near the strait and has said it is testing “suicide drones” that could conduct kamikaze missions on naval ships. It has also challenged foreign cargo ships operating in the Gulf, opening fire on at least two in April and May.
In one of those incidents, Iran temporarily seized a Marshall Islands-flagged cargo ship over what it said was a commercial dispute before releasing it with its crew more than a week later.
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.”
Schreck reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers Matthew Lee, Lolita C. Baldor, Bradley Klapper and Richard Lardner in Washington, Jon Gambrell in Dubai and Nasser Karimi in Tehran contributed to this report.
43 responses to “U.S. Navy sailors held by Iran are released with their boats”
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Hope Iran doesn’t do anything STUPID! Or else there will be NO 150 Billion Dollars for them! Not to mention,Foreign Embassies there will be forced to Roll-up the Carpet. Is this going to be part of the president’s SOTU speech.
With this weak kneed President one never knows. Reagan would have had B-52’s circling Iran and a battleship force on the way. But, just like protecting our Embassy people-practice the chip shots!!!
Are you thinking of the same Reagan who cut and ran after 241 Marines died when their barracks was bombed in Lebanon?
I remember that situation. Why did the Marines plant themselves in a concrete building with “pancake able” floors? Why didn’t the Marines shoot the truck entering their perimeter? Why didn’t the Marines secure their area better? The Marines know how to take care of themselves. They let their guard down. Blaming the president for something the solders knew how to do is total BS. It wasn’t like LBJ telling the Viet Cong we will be sending B-52’s over Hanoi Tuesday morning 10AM so set out guns and missiles at 36,000′, and they did!! Hawaii has a problem with meth, homelessness and lousy schools should we blame Obama for that?
Scudrunner: didn’t blame Reagan for the bombing of the Marine barracks, but he made the decision after the bombing to cut and run.
Was Reagan’s major military victory — the invasion of Grenada — a “chip shot.”
Yes, Reagan had a special strategy for dealing with Iranian terrorists — he sold them weapons without Congress’s knowledge and in violation of the Boland Amendment.
Oh there you go with facts again trying to muddle things up!
Agree..money and arms provided for murdering right wing forces while helping Iran. Yeah, Ray-gun was “great.”
Why does the name of former United States Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North ring a bell?
Yeah, you must be disappointed this morning that the issue was resolved peacefully and diplomatically, huh?
One can’t let facts get in the way of a good ol’ “blame Obama for every thing that has ever gone wrong in our lives” rant.
Obama handled this quickly and professionally. The Americans were in Iranian waters and were to blame. Not Iran. Iran returned them quickly when the cause of their intrusion was discovered. No biggie. I love how Israel and that country’s servants here begged for war.
Yeah, great thinking on your part. Turn a non-issue into a serious one.
Too many unanswered questions to take any bows. Videos show U S Marines on their knees. Should never happen.
You seem unaware of the various agreements dealing with maritime law and distress of water users that both Iran and the US are signatories to that require them to aid maritime users in times of need. For the same reason we diverted a destroyer to save the crew of an Iranian fishing ship, they are doing the same for us.
But I can’t expect the partisan vomitbags to understand much of anything, including international treaties.
I wonder if the crew of the Iranian fishing boat was photographed with their hands above their heads? I missed that.
No hon..the $150 billion is Iranian money that was frozen in our banks in1979. It is their own money they are getting back.
What’s the Navy doing sending small groups of sailors out in small boats in such a volatile area? It’s asking for trouble.
Not asking for trouble, it’s what the Navy does and has been doing for ages!
Ben Wong said that the fish are biting there.
“The Riverine boats were not part of the carrier strike group, and were on a training mission, the officials said. The craft are not considered high-tech and don’t contain any sensitive equipment, so there were no concerns about the Iranians gaining access to them, they added.”
On the other hand Navy Times describes these high speed, technically sophisticated (including GPS) command boats as follows: “With Rolls-Royce jets that propels it up to 43 knots, these $2.8 million boats are the flagships of the brown water Navy. They are designed for rivers and coastal waterways, with a three foot draft. The fast-attack craft host sensitive communications gear to act as a floating command post for riverine forces and can be outfitted for different missions.”
They got LOST? BOTH of them? And then generously returned on the very day in which the current occupant of the White House gave his final state of the union speech? This does not pass the smell test.
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…
Well that’s a refreshing change from Kerry’s predecessor, Hillary, who seemed to have slept through most crises, big and small. The next question is, how much will we concede or pay to the Iranians for the return our boats and sailors?
Probably just fuel costs pursuant to the various maritime distress agreements and treaties that both the US and Iran are signatories to.
Let’s hope you are right. If not a vomit bag hat would look good on you.
Vomiting is wasting food.
AND…we’re updated and I’m as usual, right.
Why do you even question me at this point?
LOL good one!! ^5
I think those sailors are in deep kim chee. Don’t think they will be released soon.
I wonder if they qualify as a POW? Lots of benefits from the VA for these unsung heroes.
Boy do you look silly right now.
Would you like a towel to wipe off the egg that’s covering your face?
Small incidents escalate into large armed conflicts. Provocative intrusions in foreign territorial waters are the water-sheds to armed conflicts. Straits of Hormuz is a flash point. Stay out of harms way!
The boat pictured is powered by a 50/50 mix of algae-based fuel and diesel. Why in the heck would you want to be in a gun fight in a boat that breaks down in a battle? I’d put this in the category with the Osprey, give it to the enemy.
you put environmentalists who worship at the altar of global warming in charge of fueling american warships?
iran has an opportunity for upstaging the u.s. after the execution of shiite muslim cleric nimr by saudi arabia, an ally of the u.s.
Boy do you look silly right now.
Would you like a towel to wipe off the egg that’s covering your face?
And the military has been looking at alternative fuels for years to be able to make fuels on site and avoid shipping issues.
You can pretend that climate change isn’t happening, but the brass since 2003 have been saying it’s happening. And just to remind you because you’re bad with dates, 2003 was solidly in Bush’s administration.
choyd is right of course
The boat was on a training mission, not part of the carrier strike group, as presented in the article.
While the boat may be capable of burning biodiesel I’ll bet my paycheck they were running on 100% fossil fuel.
The world praying for the release of our sailors was heard by God. Thank You, World for your continued support.
Seems like Iran has become a lot friendlier to the United States lately with that nuclear deal looming. If it was a year ago, those sailors probably would have been detained for weeks like they did to the British sailors just to embarrass the United States.
Iran, in spite of America’s brutality and dishonesty toward them, is potentially a friend of the USA. ASmericans are ignorant of what we did to Iran for decades. I love the Iranian people. They admire Americans. If we were less a slave of Israel and Saudi Arabia we might be doing business. Iran has a fabulous intellectual and cultural history by the way.
Iran, much like America, is full of good people, it’s the governments you have to look out for.