Defense chief: US sailors made navigational error in Iran

They said the boats had been in transit and had not meant to enter Iranian territory. “Then they came to realize the IRGC Navy has the first and the last word in here”. Pictures matter. Pictures also need to be understood in each cultural context in which they are viewed.

It was unclear whether engine trouble aboard one of the boats may have contributed to the navigation error.

We know more about what led up to the so-called apology from Naperville native Lt. John Nartker, the commander who was taken into custody with his crew as they floated into Iranian waters on the Persian Gulf. “(And if you don’t think Iran is in a state of armed conflict against the United States, tell that to the families of hundreds of American soldiers who’ve lost their lives to Iranians and Iranian-backed terrorists.)”, he wrote. The boats were supposed to stay out of that area. They ended up in Iranian territorial waters at least 50 miles offshore and were detained by the Iranian military at Farsi Island, home to an Iranian naval base. The Navy did not say it was Nartker in the video, the Chicago Tribune reported, but the Navy did confirm Thursday he is a boat captain of a Riverine Command Boat in the Gulf.

The sailors had been detained aboard two US Navy patrol boats in the Gulf on Tuesday.

A senior Navy official said the Navy was beginning the process of reintegrating the sailors after thorough medical, psychological and mental health examinations. Credit: Rexburgstandardjournal.com ” After it became clear that the US combat vessels’ illegal entry into the Islamic Republic of Iran’s waters was the result of an unintentional action and a mistake and after they extended an apology, the decision was made to release them.

The political battle comes within days of “Implementation Day” under the Iran nuclear agreement, when global officials are expected to certify that Iran has sufficiently downsized its nuclear program to trigger sanctions relief. The US sailors were released soon afterwards, and Tehran demanded an apology for the incident from the US authorities.

Global Positioning System devices aboard the boats enabled the navy to determine, after the fact, that they were in Iranian waters, but the navy was not immediately sure whether the crew members were safe or had gone overboard.

The U.S. Navy unit was scheduled to return to its home port in San Diego in the next few weeks.

Yesterday’s release of 10 American sailors detained by Iran may have quickly resolved one crisis, but it spurred a political firestorm as Obama administration officials called it a diplomatic victory while critics declared it proof that Iran can not be trusted.

He said Tehran did not consider the U.S. Navy boats violating Iranian territorial waters as “innocent passage”. “Because they know they can get away with it while President Barack Obama is in office”, Florida Sen.

State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the video was being assessed and the initial conclusion was that the sailors were treated well.