Iran releases 10 detained US Navy sailors

Iran’s Fars news agency said both boats were two kilometers inside Iranian territory, according to information recorded on their Global Positioning System devices. “We apologize”, the sailor says.

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said on MSNBC that the pending release of the sailors shows how diplomacy between USA and Iranian officials “is working”.

One sailor told Iranian state television the crew had been treated well during their detention.

Carter also said it was “not abnormal” for the Iranian military to board the US boats because they were in Iran’s waters.

It had been suggested that the revolutionary guard, which is controlled by Iran’s supreme leader and is separate from the government-controlled Iranian military, is attempting to sabotage Tehran’s nuclear deal with the USA and Europe, according to a Financial Times report.

Iran released footage Wednesday showing an American sailor apologizing for unintentionally crossing into Iranian waters along with nine others.

One US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it was clear that the boats did not run out of fuel.

‘They were released in global waters after they apologised’.

“It was a mistake, that was our fault, and we apologise for our mistake”, the sailor, who was introduced as a U.S. navy commander, said in English on IRIB state TV on Wednesday.

Navy boats showed the sailors on their knees with their hands behind their head after the boats entered Iranian waters Tuesday.

Kerry spoke to Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif several times as the United States sought to win the release of the sailors, a U.S. official said.

In a interview with Fusion’s Jorge Ramos, Carter said he was “grateful” the sailors had been returned safely after being detained by Iranian Revolutionary Guard Forces overnight Tuesday.

The Pentagon had previously contended that the boats strayed into Iranian waters because of mechanical problems. The sight of Iran and the U.S. resolving a cross-border incident the way any two normal countries would must certainly be a hopeful sign for long-term improvements in their relationship.

The landmark deal, signed in July past year, calls for Iran to limit its nuclear activities in return for the lifting of crippling global sanctions.