Iran just released the 10 U.S. Navy sailors it captured yesterday, but only after running them through interrogation and making the U.S. apologize profusely.
According to Fars News Agency, a semi-official news source in Iran, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was adamant to Secretary of State John Kerry that in order to secure a release, the U.S. would have to apologize. As the news agency notes, “the Americans have extended an apology.”
The release process Wednesday went on far longer than expected, as the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) took its time interrogating the sailors to find out if they were involved in an intelligence operation and pushing for the U.S. to apologize for the incident. Total detention time marked 16 hours. What apparently happened is that the two U.S. Navy riverine crafts experienced mechanical problems on their way from Kuwait to Bahrain about 12 nautical miles from Farsi Island, and as a result, came too close to Iranian territory. This prompted the IRGC to step in and seize the 10 sailors.
The incident occurred just before President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday night. Incidentally, Obama failed to give any mention of the sailors in his speech.
“The evidence suggests that they unintentionally entered the Iranian waters because of the failure of their navigational system,” IRGC spokesman Ramazan Sharif said, CNN reports.
There are still differing reports on whether the vessels ran out of fuel or experienced navigational problems. One senior U.S. defense official said the vessels did not give out a distress signal. The New York Times reports that officials from the Pentagon and Department of State said that at least one of the boats had mechanical issues.
When the IRGC finally decided to release the sailors, among them nine men and one woman, it brought them to a meeting point in the Persian Gulf. The sailors boarded the USS Anzio and received medical checkups. None of the sailors were harmed.
The Navy is now saying it will conduct a full investigation to determine how the sailors ended up in Iranian waters.
“As a former Sailor myself, I know the importance of naval presence around the world and the critical work being done by our Navy in the Gulf region,” Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday. “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.”
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