Alwaght- The ten US Marines who illegally entered Iran’s territorial waters and have been released after US officials extended an apology over the incident.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps seized two US Navy boats on Tuesday and detained them on Iran's Farsi Island in the Persian Gulf. Nine men and one woman trespassed Iran's territorial waters in the Persian Gulf when they were captured by the IRGC Navy.
The Public Relations Office of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announced the release on Wednesday.
The statement read, “Following the illegal and unpermitted entry of two American Navy vessels in to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s territorial waters near Farsi Island in the Persian Gulf on the evening of the previous day, the vessels stopped, obeying a warning by IRGC vessels, and their crewmembers, who comprised nine male Marines and one female Marine, were placed under arrest.”
It added, “After technical and operational examinations done in interaction with the country’s relevant political and national security authorities and the establishment of the inadvertent and unintentional nature of the entry by the American Navy crafts and their apology, a decision was made to free them.”
The statement said the Americans had pledged not to repeat the mistake, adding, “...the arrested American Marines were released in to international waters under IRGC Navy vessels’ watch.”
At the time of the impounding, the IRGC statement said, the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, which was present in nearby international waters, resorted to aerial and seaborne provocations, adding that the IRGC Navy subsequently acted perceptively and authoritatively, thus restoring control and calm to the area.
“The ardent fighters of the IRGC Navy will, as before, defend the Islamic Republic of Iran’s maritime sovereignty and borders across the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz,” the statement read.
Earlier in the day, Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi, the commander of the IRGC Navy, had noted that the trespassing occurred because of technical problems with the navigation systems of the US vessels. He added that Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had demanded an apology from the United States for the trespassing.
“Mr. Zarif adopted a strong and firm stance and declared that ‘they (the crew) were in our territorial waters and you must apologize,’” the IRGC commander said.
Each of the two US Navy boats that were 3 nautical miles deep in to the Iranian waters when they were captured by the IRGC Navy's second naval zone were equipped with three 50mm caliber machine guns and other light and semi-heavy weapons.
IRGC officials said the coordinates recorded on the GPS devices taken from the 10 US marines confirmed their trespassing as well.
Following the capture, two US and French aircraft carriers as well as their accompanying fleets and military choppers started maneuvering near Iranian waters.
The IRGC statement blamed the US flotilla for its "excited and unprofessional moves", but said the IRGC navy could handle the situation and restored calm to the region through powerful and wise moves.
