US Navy ships held by Iranian forces in Gulf
The US briefly lost contact with two Navy ships in the Persian Gulf on Tuesday, and news quickly surfaced that the vessels were being held by Iran, an official said.
Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook told the Associated Press that the ships were travelling between the Gulf countries of Bahrain and Kuwait when contact was lost.
However, the US was soon assured by Iranian authorities that "the crew and the vessels will be returned promptly," Cook added.
US Secretary of State John Kerry made contact with his Iranian counterpart Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif regarding the issue, a senior administration official told AFP.
"Earlier today [Tuesday], we lost contact with two small US naval craft en route from Kuwait to Bahrain," the 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."
A US defence official said on Wednesday that plans were in place for Iran to return the sailors, Reuters news agency reported.
The naval commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards also told state television on Wednesday that it probably "won't take long" for the sailors to be freed.
Admiral Ali Fadavi said investigations had concluded "that this trespassing was not hostile or for spying purposes" and he was waiting to receive "the required order, which probably will be their release".
The Iranians say that two ships were stopped after entering Iranian waters on Tuesday.
"At 16:30 (1300 GMT) Tuesday, two American combat boats carrying 10 armed marines who had entered Iranian territory were seized by the combat units of the Guards naval force and moved to Farsi island," an official statement said.
"Passengers of the American boats, including nine men and one woman, [are being treated] with the Islamic conduct customary of the soldiers of the Guards naval forces, and they are in good health and being kept in a proper location," it added.
The two patrol vessels with 10 Navy soldiers aboard were travelling near an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Navy base on Farsi Island when they were approached, officials said.
American officials admitted that the vessels appeared to have been in Iranian territorial waters.
A mechanical or navigational failure has not been ruled out.
"At this early stage," a senior administration official said, "there is nothing to indicate that Iran had committed a hostile act".
Ben Rhodes, a top national security aide for President Barack Obama, said the administration was "hopeful we will be able to resolve the issue".
Iran's hardline Revolutionary Guard, which controls a navy separate to the country's national navy, has often taken a tough approach to perceived and real territorial violations near the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian patrol boats last year seized the Maersk Tigris, a cargo ship that was flagged from the Marshall Islands, which meant it was under US protection.
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