Jan. 12--Iranian military forces are holding 10 American sailors and two small Navy boats that apparently strayed into Iranian waters, U.S. officials said Tuesday, but Tehran has pledged to release them shortly.
The Americans were on a training mission in the Persian Gulf when the riverine boats experienced "a navigational or mechanical difficulty" and appear to have drifted into Iranian waters, according to the Pentagon. Iranian coast guard boats brought the vessels to a Revolutionary Guard base on Farsi Island, officials said.
U.S. officials said they believe that craft steered off course and that the crew was aided, not captured, by Iranian forces.
"There doesn't seem to be anything malicious at work on either side," according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity in discussing the internal assessment.
The Navy crew members are safe and are expected to be released promptly, Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, said on CNN.
Secretary of State John F. Kerry has spoken by phone with Iranian officials in Tehran to gain their release. Ben Rhodes, a senior aide to President Obama, indicated that the situation was still fluid.
"We were aware of circumstances surrounding the patrol in the Persian Gulf," Rhodes said. "We are working to resolve the situation so any U.S. personnel are returned to their normal deployment.... Hopefully, it will be resolved."
A Pentagon official said the Navy "lost contact" with the two craft as they transited from Kuwait to Bahrain.
"We subsequently have been in communication with Iranian authorities, who have informed us of the safety and well-being of our personnel," said the official, who was not authorized to speak on the record. "We have received assurances the sailors will promptly be allowed to continue their journey."
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Farsi Island is home to gas and oil installations, in addition to the Revolutionary Guard base, and public access is restricted.
The island comes under the legal jurisdiction of mainland Bushehr province, which is also home to a nuclear power plant built with Russian assistance.
There was scant mention of the incident in the Iranian press.
But in a brief item dubbed "exclusive," Iran's semiofficial Fars News Agency said 10 U.S. military personnel --nine men and one woman -- had been "detained" and their two boats seized after the vessels "illegally" entered Iranian waters near Farsi Island.
The craft had ventured nearly a mile inside Iran's maritime boundary, Fars reported.
Revolutionary Guard personnel were in possession of GPS equipment showing that the boats had traveled into Iranian waters, according to the report.
Each boat was armed with three .50-caliber machine guns, one in the front and one on each side, according to Fars.
The report did not mention any kind of a clash during the incident. Nor did Fars give any insight into the fate of those being held.
But Tasmin News, which is close to the Revolutionary Guard, quoted a Lebanese media report as saying that Iran had agreed to release the U.S. personnel promptly.
The unusual episode comes hours before Obama is set to deliver his final State of the Union address to Congress. It also comes amid rising tensions in the region.
On Dec. 30, the White House notified Congress of its intentions to impose new sanctions on Iran for testing ballistic missiles, but then reversed course. Iran also launched a small rocket that reportedly passed about 1,500 yards from a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Strait of Hormuz.
Times staff writers Hennigan and Memoli reported from Washington and special correspondent Mostaghim reported from Tehran. Staff writers Brian Bennett in Washington and Patrick J. McDonnell in Beirut contributed to this report.
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