Pentagon: 2 U.S. Navy Boats With 10 American Sailors Held by Iran Military
Iranian military forces seized two U.S. Navy boats Tuesday and are detaining them on Iran's Farsi Island in the Persian Gulf, senior U.S. officials told NBC News.
The 10 American sailors were on a training mission around noon ET when one of the boats may have experienced mechanical failure and drifted into Iranian-claimed waters, officials said. Iran's coast guard took them into custody.
The officials said it's unclear whether the sailors — nine men and one woman — aboard the two small riverine vessels had strayed into Iranian territorial waters before they were captured.
According to the official, Iran had no intention of holding the sailors for an extended period of time and expressed a desire to quickly return them to U.S. custody.
“Earlier today, we lost contact with two small U.S. naval craft en route from Kuwait to Bahrain,” a second defense official said.
“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.”
The U.S. operates a variety of small riverine boats in the Persian Gulf based at the U.S. naval base in Bahrain.
It’s unclear which Iranian forces seized the boats and the crews, however the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) operates a base on the island in the middle of the Persian Gulf.
