Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Public Relations Department said in a statement on Wednesday that the US sailors in custody of Iran have been released in the international waters.
The aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman and the French Navy's Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier were present in the region when the sailors were detained. The US aircraft carrier however had some nervous but passive air and naval reactions which were controlled powerfully by IRGC naval forces who returned security to the region, the statement added.
The US sailors had both light and semi-heavy weapons with themselves, when arrested, it said.
The statement noted that US political officials in their repeated contacts with the Iranian officials called the action as unintentional and called for the release of the marines.
The US marines were detained and questioned about their presence in Iran's territorial waters in the IRGC naval base in the region, it said.
IRGC statement underlined that the US marines were released after completion of technical and operational investigations and in coordination with the political and national security decision makers.
IRGC reiterated that the marines were released because they had entered Iran's territorial waters unintentionally and after they have apologized for the illegal action.
Americans guaranteed not to repeat such mistakes again, the statement said.
IRGC underlined that Iran's Navy is ready to powerfully make any sacrifice in defense of the country's sea borders in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.
The US Navy boats entered Iranian territorial waters due to a broken navigation system.
IRGC Public Relations Department, in a statement, said that the US navy boats were stopped Tuesday at 4:30 PM (local time) when they entered Iranian territorial waters near Farsi Island in the middle of the Persian Gulf.
IRGC declared that the US navy boats entered Iranian territorial waters illegally.
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US marines entered unintentionally, released after apology: IRGC
Jan 13, 2016, 2:46 PM
News ID:
81919286
Tehran, Jan 13, IRNA – The US marines, who entered Iran's territorial waters yesterday, were released because it has become clear that their entry was not intentional and after they apologized for the move, IRGC said in a statement.
