Iran releases U.S. Navy sailors, boats

UPDATE: Iran has freed all 10 U.S. Navy sailors that were detained after their boats drifted into Iranian territorial waters Tuesday, the United States and Iran said Wednesday. The Navy said the crew members returned safely and there were no indications they had been harmed while in custody.

Iran held the nine men and one woman at a base on Farsi Island in the Persian Gulf. The sailors departed the island at 8:43 a.m. GMT aboard the boats they were detained with, the Navy said. They were picked up by Navy aircraft and other sailors took control of their boats for the return to Bahrain, where the U.S. 5th Fleet is based.

“The Navy will investigate the circumstances that led to the sailors' presence in Iran,” the U.S. statement said.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard's official website published images of the detained U.S. sailors before their release showing them sitting on the floor of a room. One was a woman with her hair covered by a brown cloth. The photos also showed what appeared to be their two boats.

“After determining that their entry into Iran’s territorial waters was not intentional and their apology, the detained American sailors were released in international waters of the Persian Gulf,” a statement posted online by the Guard said Wednesday.

OUR EARLIER REPORT (Jan. 12, 5:30 p.m.): Iran has taken custody of two U.S. Navy boats and 10 sailors after the vessels drifted into Iranian waters.

According to U.S. officials, the riverine boats had mechanical problems while traveling between Kuwait and Bahrain, near Farsi Island in the Persian Gulf. Shortly after the Navy lost contact with the boats, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s navy picked them up.

“We have been in contact with Iran and have received assurances that the crew and the vessels will be returned promptly,” said Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook.

As soon as he learned about the incident, Secretary of State John Kerry called his counterpart in Tehran, Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif. The two men have reportedly developed a personal relationship after three years of negotiating the international nuclear agreement approved last year. Iran is just days away from completing the steps it needs to take to uphold its end of the agreement.

It’s not clear where the U.S. sailors are now. They were initially held at Farsi Island. According to U.S. officials, Kerry first learned of the incident at about 12:30 p.m. EST, meaning the Americans have been in Iranian custody for at least five hours.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.