Defense Secretary Says Detained Sailors Entered Iranian Waters by Mistake

Iran has released ten U.S. Navy sailors after holding them overnight, saying their accidental crossover into Iranian waters – just days before a landmark nuclear deal is implemented – was not a hostile act intended for espionage.

The crew stopped to fix an engine problem on one of the boats, not realizing they had drifted too close to Iran’s Farsi Island, the official said.

Donald Trump, as he often does, put it all the most plainly, in describing what he says was a campaign event with construction workers who were weeping with wounded pride: “They were watching the humiliation of our young 10 sailors, sitting on the floor with their knees in a begging position, their hands up, and Iranian wiseguys having guns to their heads”.

Clearly our Riverine boats had the capability to blow those Iranian boats out of the water, and they were backed up by the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, which was nearby and could have FA-18 fighters over them in moments.

“All the contributing factors to that, we don’t know yet and we’re still talking to those folks and we’ll find out more what combination of factors led to that navigational error”, said the Pentagon chief.

The navigation error was compounded by some sort of engine trouble aboard one of the boats, defense officials said.

Video showing the United States sailors kneeling and with their hands clasped behind their heads, and one of them apologizing, aired on U.S. television Wednesday, further angering lawmakers.

Even the moderators got in on it, with Neil Cavuto at one point telling Jeb Bush, “For the third time in as many months, the Iranians have provoked us”. They know they can humiliate us….

Or the crew members may have taken a shortcut into Iranian waters as they headed for the refueling ship, officials said.

Video also showed Iranian troops rummaging through an array of weapons found aboard the U.S. boats.

The Navy was able to track the missing boats as they were apparently towed to a military pier on Iran’s Farsi Island – where the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps happens to operate a base.

Embarrassment was apparent even among the White House staff, as manifest in leaks and excuses conveyed by Obama’s staff to the US media during the sailors’ detention.

MR KIRBY: We’re not in armed conflict with Iran, and there’s been no legal determination to that effect.

The facts: Neither candidate addressed the fact that the short-lived crisis was created by the USA sailors who steered their boats into sovereign Iranian waters, where they were boarded and seized by Iranian naval forces.

Upon their release, the Pentagon stated that there was no sign the sailors were mistreated.

And there is alarm in the US military about the silence from officials over that video.

In a message to the Commander of IRGC Navy Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi, Boroujerdi said the “brave” move by the Iranian forces in the Persian Gulf indicated that Iran controls the security of this sensitive region. The Iranians did not interfere, the defense official said.

The difference, Shannon says, is that this week’s incident came as the USA and Iran prepared to implement a diplomatic deal in which America lifted some sanctions, and in exchange Iran scaled back and increased transparency of its nuclear program.

Nartker’s father, William, told this newspaper he would like to hold off on commenting until he has had a chance to speak to his son.

“If you’re held prisoner, you tell them whater you need if it’s going to help you survive”, he said.