A top United States officials confirmed to the media that they are now working to recover 10 US Navy personnel who lost radio contact and were apprehended Tuesday after straying into Iranian territorial waters.
The official noted that the 10 sailors were part of the two patrol vessels traveling near an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Navy base on Farsi Island when they were approached and brought to the island territory of Iran.
The Iranian counterpart of US Secretary of State John Kerry was contacted and the US Government “received assurances the sailors will promptly be allowed to continue their journey.”
Based upon initial reports, a mechanical navigational failure was one of the reason why the Americans lost and have been in Iranian territorial waters.
The incident is a major embarrassment for Obama’s administration, just hours before his final State of the Union address. Pres. Obama is expected to use the State of the Union address to burnish his legacy, hailing, among other things, a nuclear deal with Iran.