‘Navigation Error’ to Blame for Sailors Straying into Iranian Waters

Hemayat news also features the moment the US sailors surrender to Iran’s navy.

The 10 sailors were taken prisoner by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard on Tuesday evening after allegedly violating Iranian waters around Farsi Island in the middle of the Persian Gulf.

“After determining that their entry into Iran’s territorial waters was not intentional and their apology, the detained American sailors were released in global waters of the Persian Gulf”, a statement posted online by the Guard said Wednesday.

Fadavi said the American boats had shown “unprofessional acts” for 40 minutes before being picked up by Iranian forces after entering the country’s territorial waters. Hours later, the same media showed images where the American sailors appeared to be eating in group with a less rigid look.

Earlier, the Guards had said the boats were “snooping” in Iranian territory and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had demanded an apology from Washington.

Lawmakers voted 191-106 to approve the Iran Terror Finance Transparency Act, spurning a veto threat from President Barack Obama.

USA officials, including Vice President Joe Biden and State Department spokesman John Kirby, denied there was any US apology.

Carter was in Miami to attend the change of command ceremony at US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), whose areas of responsibility include Central and South America. It may be that they were trying to sort it out at the time they encountered Iranian boats.

The sailor, now 27-years-old, graduated from Lisle’s Benet Academy in 2007 before entering the U.S. Naval Academy.

Secretary of Defense Ash Carter released a statement regarding the release.

The political battle comes within days of “Implementation Day” under the Iran nuclear agreement, when worldwide officials are expected to certify that Iran has sufficiently downsized its nuclear program to trigger sanctions relief.

Iranian troops are seen on video checking the sailors’ documents such as passports in addition to guns, ammunition, and other equipment aboard the two boats.

A Navy official told ABC on Thursday that there was a U.S. Navy search boat looking for them after they went missing.

The unidentified sailor stated in the footage that his Iranian captors behaved in a “fantastic” manner during the crew’s time there and thanked them for their “hospitality”. It is not yet know whether mechanical problems caused the boats to drift off course or if they possibly ran out of gas before refueling occurred.