Donald Trump called for the release of 10 US sailors who were being held hostage in Iran - hours after they had already been released.
The sailors were released from Farsi Island in the Gulf at 8.43am GMT - 3.43am Eastern Time - and were returned to US custody.
They had been held hostage for ‘trespassing’ in Iranian territory and were held captive overnight, shaking nerves in the few days leading up to a deal on nuclear between the US and Tehran.
The US Department of Defense released a statement this morning at 6.30am GMT to say that the sailors had been released and were not harmed.
However Donald Trump, believing they were still hostage in foreign waters, posted this tweet around 7am Eastern Time:
According to Business Insider, Mr Trump said on Tuesday that the Iranians “like to taunt us because they don’t have respect for our leaders”.
Mr Trump said he would be “much tougher” than President Obama on US treatment of Iran, which has so far involved working together to curtail Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
The Department of Defense said the Navy will investigate why the sailors ended up in Iran after their boat reportedly had mechanical issues.
