US Sailors Drifting into Iran Waters Not Hostile, Says Ansari
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman says the drifting of the US vessels into Iran’s territorial waters was no “hostile” act.
“It was established that their presence in [Iran’s] sector was due to technical problems with the navigation systems” of the US vessels, Hossein Jaberi Ansari said.
He added that the US vessels were led out of Iran’s territory after it was proven that the “entry of the vessels had not been a hostile act.”
On Wednesday, Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy, said two US Navy crafts carrying 10 Marines had on Tuesday reached three miles into the waters surrounding the Farsi Island in the Persian Gulf.
However, the IRGC released the sailors on Wednesday, saying in a statement that “after technical and operational examinations done in interaction with the country’s relevant political and national security authorities and the establishment of the inadvertent and unintentional nature of the entry by the American Navy crafts and their apology, a decision was made to free them.”
Zarif is ‘happy to see dialogue and respect, not threats
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif expressed his pleasure with the swift diplomatic resolution of the case of US sailors, hoping that the issue would become a model for future cases.
“(I am) happy to see dialog and respect, not threats and impetuousness, swiftly resolved the (US) sailors’ episode,” Zarif said in a post in his Twitter account. “Let’s learn from this latest example,” he added.
John Kerry thanks Iran for freeing US Navy sailors
US Secretary of State John Kerry has thanked Iran for freeing 10 US Navy sailors who had entered Iranian territorial waters inadvertently.
“I want to express my gratitude to Iranian authorities for their cooperation in swiftly resolving this matter,” Kerry said in a statement on Wednesday.
“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 added.
Earlier in the day, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said it had freed the US Marines after holding them overnight.
The sailors had been arrested aboard two US Navy patrol boats in the Persian Gulf on Tuesday.
The Public Relations Office of the IRGC announced the release after determining the sailors had entered Iranian territorial waters by mistake.
“Following the illegal and unpermitted entry of two American Navy vessels into the Islamic Republic of Iran’s territorial waters near Farsi Island in the Persian Gulf on the evening of the previous day, the vessels stopped, obeying a warning by IRGC vessels, and their crewmembers, who comprised nine male Marines and one female Marine, were placed under arrest,” the statement IRGC read.
“After technical and operational examinations done in interaction with the country’s relevant political and national security authorities and the establishment of the inadvertent and unintentional nature of the entry by the American Navy crafts and their apology, a decision was made to free them,” it added.
The statement said the Americans had pledged not to repeat the mistake, adding, “…the arrested American Marines were released into international waters under IRGC Navy vessels’ watch.”
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