US Navy sailors made ‘navigational error’ into Iranian waters: Carter

The U.S. military confirmed the release of the naval personnel early Wednesday, saying that there was no indication that the sailors were harmed.

“It does appear from the information that they have given through their commanders that they did stray into Iranian waters due to a navigation error”, Carter said.

The key to this success, we are told, was that the USA and Iran had a reliable diplomatic channel because of nuclear negotiations to defuse this potential crisis.

In an interview with Univision, the Pentagon chief said the small patrol vessels passed into Iranian waters late on Tuesday by accident.

It also released footage of one of the detained men, identified as a U.S. Navy commander, apologizing for the incident.

“It is clear that today this kind of issue was able to be peacefully resolved and efficiently resolved, and that is a testament to the critical role that diplomacy plays in keeping our country safe, secure, and strong”.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said in a statement Wednesday that the sailors had been released back into worldwide waters following a US apology and clarifications that any incursion was “a mistake”.

“Compared to a similar incident in 2007, this was handled much more quickly and with a minimum of fuss”.

Iran reached a high-stakes nuclear agreement with the US and other powers previous year, in which Iran agreed to dramatically limit its nuclear program in exchange for relief from crippling sanctions. They say it stemmed from some type of mechanical trouble with one of the boats, causing them to run aground. He added that the US would have never made a video like that if the situation had been reversed.

In the video, Nartker is asked whether Global Positioning System showed they entered Iranian water and he replied, “I believe so”.

“The navy called us Tuesday night to let us know he was captured”, Bill Nartker said, choking back his emotion.

“It’s possible to make a navigational error of that type, it happens to everyone once in a while”, a senior USA naval official said.

The officials were not authorized to discuss the details of the incident and spoke on condition of anonymity.

US Defence Secretary Ash Carter said he was pleased the sailors had been freed and appreciated “the timely way in which this situation was resolved”. Iran also continues to hold the Washington Post journalist, a Christian pastor and a former U.S. Marine.

The crews were released and escorted to the USS Anzio, which was waiting just beyond the Iranian boundary in the gulf. Although the United States and Iran are not officially at war, a video confession from a detained soldier violates the treaties’ intent.