WASHINGTON (AP) --- Iran is holding 10 U.S. Navy sailors and
their two small Navy boats when the boats had mechanical problems
and drifted into Iranian waters, but American officials have received
assurances from Tehran that they will be returned safely and
promptly.
Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook told The Associated Press that the
riverine boats were moving between Kuwait and Bahrain when the U.S.
lost contact with them.
U.S. officials said that the incident happened near Farsi Island,
situated in the Persian Gulf. They said that some type of mechanical
trouble with one of the boats caused them to run aground and they
were picked up by Iran. The sailors were in Iranian custody on Farsi
Island at least for some time, but it's not certain where they are
now.
The semi-official Iranian news agency, FARS, said the Iranian
Revolutionary Guard's navy has detained 10 foreign forces, believed
to be Americans, and said the sailors were trespassing in Iranian
waters.
"We have been in contact with Iran and have received assurances
that the crew and the vessels will be returned promptly," Cook
said.
The incident comes amid heightened tensions with Iran, and only hours
before President Barack Obama is set to deliver his final State of
the Union address to Congress and the public. It set off a dramatic
series of calls and meetings as U.S. officials tried to determine the
exact status of the crew and reach out to Iranian leaders.
Secretary of State John Kerry, who has forged a personal
relationship with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif
through three years of nuclear negotiations, called Zarif immediately
on learning of the incident, according to a senior U.S. official.
Kerry "personally engaged with Zarif on this issue to try to get
to this outcome," the official said.
Kerry learned of the incident around 12:30 p.m. EST as he and
Defense Secretary Ash Carter were meeting their Filipino counterparts
at the State Department, the official said.
This comes on the heels of an incident in late December when Iran
launched a rocket test near U.S. warships and boats passing through
the Strait of Hormuz.
The officials were not authorized to discuss the sensitive
incident publicly so spoke on condition of anonymity.
The incident also takes place just days before Iran is expected to
satisfy the terms of last summer's nuclear deal. Once the U.N.
nuclear agency confirms Iran's actions to roll back its program, the
United States and other Western powers are obliged to suspend
wide-ranging oil, trade and financial sanctions on Tehran. Kerry
recently said the deal's implementation was "days away."
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