13 January 2016•Update: 14 January 2016
TEHRAN, Iran
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Wednesday announced the release of 10 U.S. Navy sailors who were detained one day earlier.
“The decision to release the sailors was taken after it was confirmed that they had not intended to enter Iranian waters,” IRNA, Iran’s semi-official news agency, quoted a Revolutionary Guards statement as saying.
Two small U.S. naval vessels were stopped and held by Iranian forces on Tuesday while en route from Kuwait to Bahrain, according to the Pentagon.
“There are no indications that the sailors were harmed during their brief detention,” a Pentagon statement said Wednesday. “The sailors departed Farsi Island at 8:43 a.m. (GMT), aboard the two Riverine Command Boats (RCB) that they had been operating when they lost contact with the U.S. Navy.”
Secretary of State John Kerry thanked Iranian officials "for their cooperation in swiftly resolving this matter".
"That this issue was resolved peacefully and efficiently is a testament to the critical role diplomacy plays in keeping our country safe, secure, and strong," he said.
Echoing America's top diplomat, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeted, "Happy to see dialog and respect, not threats and impetuousness, swiftly resolved the #sailors episode. Let’s learn from this latest example."
But Vice President Joe Biden denied reports that the U.S. apologized to Tehran in order to secure the sailors’ release.
"When you have a problem with a boat -- you apologize the boat had a problem? No," Biden said during an interview with American broadcaster CBS. "And there was no looking for any apology. This was just standard nautical practice," he added.
The U.S. later brushed aside concerns that video showing images of sailors that were shown on Iranian television may have violated international law.
A State Department spokesman said the Geneva Conventions might not apply in this case because the authenticity of the videos and photos are yet unknown.
"I'm not trying to say that that was authenticated, that we stood -- you know, behind that actual piece of video in any way, shape or form ... we're still assessing whether these videos are authentic or not," said Mark Toner.
Once the sailors arrive in the U.S., they will be debriefed, according to Toner.
