WASHINGTON: US officials were scrambling Tuesday to recover US Navy personnel who lost radio contact and were apprehended after straying into Iranian waters.
Senior US officials said they had received assurances from Tehran that the crews -- take to Farsi island -- would be allowed to sail onwards come first light.
But it appeared likely that the embarrassing crisis would last at least until after President Barack Obama's State of the Union address later Tuesday.
Secretary of State John Kerry called his Iranian counterpart Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, with whom he struck the Iran nuclear deal.
Washington has no diplomatic relations with Tehran, but Kerry and Zarif forged a tie during the long negotiations for the pact and are in regular contact.
"He has a close relationship with foreign minister Zarif and that would be a natural point of contact," White House communications director Jen Psaki told CNN.
"We have been in touch with the Iranians. We have been assured of their safety and that they will be able to move forward on their journey promptly," she said.
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