US Navy sailors released unharmed by Iran in less than a day

Tehran announced early Wednesday that it was releasing the group of USA sailors who had crossed into its “territorial waters” Tuesday evening.

In an interview with Tasnim news agency prior to the sailors’ release, Revolutionary Guard spokesman Ramazan Sharif stated that “If, during the interrogation, we find out that they were on an intelligence gathering mission, we will treat them differently”.

Contrary to initial reports, United States officials are now ruling out any mechanical fault aboard the sailors’ two small patrol boats, which were apprehended by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards while en route from Kuwait to Bahrain.

Kerry’s gracious remarks came an hour after Iranian state media released video and photos of the US sailors being captured.

It said the sailors departed the Iranian base on Farsi Island at 0843 GMT on the same boats that brought them there.

The U.S. Central Command later said: “The video appears to be authentic, but we can not speak to the conditions of the situation or what the crew was experiencing at the time”.

The 10 sailors were taken aboard the cruiser where they were given an initial medical evaluation and were then flown to the aircraft carrier USS Harry S Truman. He said Tehran did not consider the U.S. Navy boats violating Iranian territorial waters as an “innocent passage”.

The vote came as the potentially volatile incident in Iran’s territorial waters was swiftly resolved. “I’m sure it’s occurred to many of us, that if Iran behaves this way now, in a few days when it gets its hands on this bankroll, what other actions are we going to see?” In Vienna, a senior diplomat from one of the six countries that cut the deal with Iran said it would be formally declared implemented “most probably Friday”. Iranian authorities corroborated the Navy’s account.

Delivering a speech on U.S. foreign policy, Mr Kerry said the peaceful resolution was a “testament to the critical role that diplomacy plays” in keeping the USA safe.

Nine men and one woman were arrested during the incident, spending the evening in Iranian military custody. It said the Navy would conduct an investigation into the incident. They say that since the agreement was reached in July, Tehran has tested ballistic missiles in violation of existing United Nations sanctions and continued to support terrorism. No, and there was no looking for any apology.

The IRGC ultimately determined that the sailors’ entry was not intentional, the corps said. They’ve focused on nuclear matters, Iran’s worsening rivalry with Saudi Arabia and peace efforts in Syria.

When the Navy confirmed the boats were at Farsi Island, it turned to the State Department to negotiate their release.