Ten US navy personnel, detained by Iranian forces after two small boats were stopped and seized near Farsi Island in the Persian Gulf, have now reportedly been freed.
The two boats, both carrying weapons, had travelled more than a mile into Iranian territorial waters before they were stopped and the crew detained, reported Iran's semi-official news outlet Fars.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards also confiscated GPS navigation systems which Fars said would "prove that the American ships were 'snooping' around in Iranian waters".
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said the boats had been travelling between Kuwait and Bahrain when they briefly lost contact.
The US had been assured that the sailors – said to be nine men and a woman - would be returned "safely and promptly".
"We have been in contact with Iran and have received assurances that the ten crew members and the vessels will be returned promptly," said Cook, before their release.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest had also confirmed the "sailors are safe" and "will be allowed to continue their journey".
General Ali Fadavi, commander of Iran's naval forces, claims the US has apologised, although there has been no confirmation from Washington.
US officials publicly denied that the two vessels strayed intentionally and told Fox News that a mechanical failure on one of the boats caused the pair to drift into Iranian territorial waters by mistake.
The incident comes just days before Iran is expected to finalise the terms of an agreement with Washington which would see its nuclear capabilities curtailed in exchange for a suspension of wide-ranging trade sanctions from a number of countries, including the US.
Republican politicians say Tehran's actions are "further evidence that Iran is not to be trusted" ahead of a crucial vote today that could give Congress greater oversight of the agreement, CNBC reports. Republicans also noted that US President Barack Obama failed to mention the incident during his State of the Union address.
-
Should Labour break manifesto pledge and raise taxes?Today's Big Question There are ‘powerful’ fiscal arguments for an income tax rise but it could mean ‘game over’ for the government
-
Nigerian Modernism: an ‘entrancing, enlightening exhibition’The Week Recommends Tate Modern’s ‘revelatory’ show includes 250 works examining Nigerian art pre- and post independence
-
To the point: the gender divide over exclamation marksTalking Point 'Men harbouring urges to be more exclamative' can finally take a breath – this is what using the punctuation really conveys
-
What we know about the Titan sub’s likely implosionfeature Experts say the five passengers would have died ‘instantaneously’ following ‘catastrophic’ loss of pressure
-
What happened to the missing Titanic sub?Today's Big Question Oxygen supplies running out after vessel lost contact during ‘daredevil’ trip
-
Iran claims to have built its first hypersonic missileSpeed Read
-
U.S. sanctions Russia and Iran for wrongfully detaining AmericansSpeed Read
-
Iran installing public cameras to identify women not wearing hijabsSpeed Read
-
Iran and Saudi Arabia agree to reopen embassies, resume flights in China-brokered thawSpeed Read
-
An end to Iran and Saudi Arabia’s seven-year riftfeature Thawing of relations could transform the Middle East
-
Israel reportedly behind drone attack on Iranian military-linked warehouse in IsfahanSpeed Read
