Iran detains 10 US sailors; prompt return expected

WASHINGTON/BEIRUT: Iran detained 10 US sailors aboard two US Navy boats in the Gulf on Tuesday in an incident that rattled nerves days ahead of the expected implementation of a landmark nuclear accord with Tehran.

Late on Tuesday, a US defense official said plans were in place for Iran to return the sailors to a US Navy vessel in international waters early on Wednesday.

Both US and Iranian officials described the sailors, whose boats may have inadvertently drifted into Iranian waters, as safe and well-treated. US defense officials said nine men and one woman were aboard the two vessels seized.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest told CNN that "We have received assurances from the Iranians that our sailors are safe and that they will be allowed to continue their journey promptly."

Official Iranian news outlets confirmed the detention of the 10 Americans. "The Revolutionary Guards naval forces seized the American boats two kilometers inside Iranian territorial waters while they were snooping around," Iran's semi-official Fars news agency said.

Officials from Iran and the United States were negotiating to free the crew, Fars reported.

The White House expects the situation to be resolved quickly.

Washington and Tehran, which have pursued a partial detente in recent years, both appeared eager not to let the boat incident escalate further.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif assured US Secretary of State John Kerry that the US sailors would be allowed to continue their journey promptly, another US official said.

The seizure of the 10 sailors nonetheless underscored the potential for clashes that could derail diplomacy, especially in the Gulf's tense and crowded shipping lanes.

Precisely what happened to the two US boats remained unclear.

A senior US defense official said the United States had lost contact earlier in the day with two small craft en route from Kuwait to Bahrain.

Another US official said mechanical issues may have disabled one of the boats, leading to a situation in which both ships drifted inadvertently into Iranian waters.