Rocky C
01-12-16, 05:16 PM
Ten sailors and two boats were taken into Iranian custody Tuesday after their patrol boats drifted into Iranian-claimed waters, according to two defense officials.
The riverine sailors are believed to have drifted into Iranian territory after having mechanical issues with their boats. The defense officials said Secretary of State John Kerry got immediately involved and Iran has agreed to turn the sailors and vessels over, though they have not been turned over as of 4 p.m., Eastern Standard Time.
"Earlier today, noonish East Coast, we lost contact with two small U.S. naval craft en route from Kuwait to Bahrain," said a defense official, who, like others, asked for anonymity to discuss ongoing negotiations. "We subsequently have been in communication with Iranian authorities, who have informed us of the safety and well-being of our personnel. We have received assurances the sailors will promptly be allowed to continue their journey."
Fleet officials lost contact with the riverine boats in the vicinity of Farsi Island, an Iranian island in the north Persian Gulf. A U.S. official said it’s believed they drifted into the 12-mile zone near the island while in transit. The island is believed to be a base for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“We found out that the Iranians may actually have them so we initiated state-to-state contact,” said another defense official.
It is unclear whether the Iranian forces boarded the U.S. boats or confronted the sailors.
Expert: Iran likely to seek more confrontations in 2016 with U.S. Navy
Officials at 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain did not immediately respond to requests for comment. An official at U.S. Central Command referred questions to the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook told The Associated Press that the boats were moving between Kuwait and Bahrain when the U.S. lost contact with them. The situation began to unfold during the evening in the Persian Gulf, according to a defense official. The Truman Carrier Strike Group launched a search and rescue effort and is still in the vicinity.
The New York Times reported that Iran’s Fars news agency said the riverine boats traveled more than mile into Iranian territorial waters and that the Revolutionary Guard Corps seized some GPS gear to show the ships had been “snooping.”
The situation is reminiscent of a 2007 incident when 15 British sailors were captured by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and held for two weeks.
The Iranian seizure is the latest flare-up in an increasingly tense relationship. Two weeks ago, U.S. officials blamed patrol boats with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps for firing rockets in the vicinity of the Truman Carrier Strike Group, which was then passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Those officials labeled it a “dangerous” and “unprofessional” stunt.
Some experts have cautioned that Iran’s elite paramilitary forces are likely to continue to seek provocations with the West, even as Iran enters into a nuclear agreement.
The riverine sailors are believed to have drifted into Iranian territory after having mechanical issues with their boats. The defense officials said Secretary of State John Kerry got immediately involved and Iran has agreed to turn the sailors and vessels over, though they have not been turned over as of 4 p.m., Eastern Standard Time.
"Earlier today, noonish East Coast, we lost contact with two small U.S. naval craft en route from Kuwait to Bahrain," said a defense official, who, like others, asked for anonymity to discuss ongoing negotiations. "We subsequently have been in communication with Iranian authorities, who have informed us of the safety and well-being of our personnel. We have received assurances the sailors will promptly be allowed to continue their journey."
Fleet officials lost contact with the riverine boats in the vicinity of Farsi Island, an Iranian island in the north Persian Gulf. A U.S. official said it’s believed they drifted into the 12-mile zone near the island while in transit. The island is believed to be a base for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“We found out that the Iranians may actually have them so we initiated state-to-state contact,” said another defense official.
It is unclear whether the Iranian forces boarded the U.S. boats or confronted the sailors.
Expert: Iran likely to seek more confrontations in 2016 with U.S. Navy
Officials at 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain did not immediately respond to requests for comment. An official at U.S. Central Command referred questions to the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook told The Associated Press that the boats were moving between Kuwait and Bahrain when the U.S. lost contact with them. The situation began to unfold during the evening in the Persian Gulf, according to a defense official. The Truman Carrier Strike Group launched a search and rescue effort and is still in the vicinity.
The New York Times reported that Iran’s Fars news agency said the riverine boats traveled more than mile into Iranian territorial waters and that the Revolutionary Guard Corps seized some GPS gear to show the ships had been “snooping.”
The situation is reminiscent of a 2007 incident when 15 British sailors were captured by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and held for two weeks.
The Iranian seizure is the latest flare-up in an increasingly tense relationship. Two weeks ago, U.S. officials blamed patrol boats with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps for firing rockets in the vicinity of the Truman Carrier Strike Group, which was then passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Those officials labeled it a “dangerous” and “unprofessional” stunt.
Some experts have cautioned that Iran’s elite paramilitary forces are likely to continue to seek provocations with the West, even as Iran enters into a nuclear agreement.