Iran’s detention of U.S. sailors sets off debate over nuclear deal

A top Iranian navy commander said the country’s foreign minister has called for the United States to apologize for the “encroachment” of American vessels into Iranian territorial waters, state-run media reported.

Nine men and one woman were arrested during the incident, spending the evening in Iranian military custody.

Truman aircraft carrier had been drifting out southeast of the Iranian island of Farsi in the worldwide waters when the Iranian forces seized the two boats, while the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle had been also patrolling in the global waters northeast of the island at the time of the seizure, the IRGC added.

The sailors were on two small boats in the Persian Gulf between Kuwait and Bahrain when US controllers lost contact with them on Tuesday.

The Obama administration was quick to label the incident a victory for diplomacy, but U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., suggested the White House is more interested in protecting President Obama’s nuclear agreement with Iran than taking a stand for the sailors.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter welcomed the sailors’ release.

Secretary of State John Kerry told CNN’s Dana Bash on Tuesday that he expected the sailors to be released “very soon”, but would not be more specific.

Critics have said the standoff shows Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran has not quelled Tehran’s aggression.

“Around the world, the U.S. Navy routinely provides assistance to foreign sailors in distress, and we appreciate the timely way in which this situation was resolved”.

“There may have been mechanical failure on one of the vessels, but it is unclear at this time”, a defense official told VOA.

The Iranian military kept the sailors overnight and released them Wednesday morning. Nash said he believes Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the decision to release the footage because the group detaining the sailors was the Iranian Republican Guard Navy, which reports directly to Khamenei.

In 2007, Iran captured 15 British sailors and marines in the Persian Gulf and accused them of trespassing in Iranian territorial waters.