Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 13
By Umid Niayesh- Trend:
The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) confirmed that it has seized two US navy boats with 10 sailors.
The IRGC Navy's Public Relations Department, in a statement released on Jan. 13, declared that the US navy boats entered Iranian territorial waters near Farsi Island in the Persian Gulf illegally, the official news portal of the IRGC reported.
The boats were sized at 16:30 (GMT+3:30) on Jan. 12, according to the statement.
The arrested US sailors including one woman are "safe" and are being held in an "appropriate" place, according to the Iranian side.
Earlier, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said the US military lost contact with two small US boats en route from Kuwait to Bahrain, confirming that the 10 sailors on the boats were in Iranian custody.
Cook also claimed that US had been in contact with Iran and rested assured that they would be returned.
US Secretary of State John Kerry also contacted Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on the issue.