Iran arrests 10 Americans sailors, Tehran confirms detainees’ safety
Archival photo
(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – On Wednesday, United States announced, that the Iranian authorities have detained ten sailors and two boats belonging to the US Navy in the Persian Gulf after straying into Iranian territorial waters, while Tehran pledged to release the crew today.
White House spokesman Josh Ernst said in a statement followed by IraqiNews.com, “The United States lost contact with two small boats carrying ten sailors (nine men and one woman) on their way from Kuwait to Bahrain,” expecting that, “The two naval boats entered the Iranian territorial water accidentally due to some technical problems in one of the two boats.”
Ernst added, “The Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif guaranteed the safety of US sailors and will allow them to continue their journey immediately.”
Noteworthy, Iranian news agency Fars revealed on Tuesday, that the naval forces of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards had detained two American boats, after straying into the Iranian territorial waters, while indicated that officials from Iran and the United States are negotiating to release the sailors.