Iran frees US sailors, heading off crisis

Iran moved Wednesday to head off a potential crisis days before the expected implementation of its nuclear deal with world powers by releasing 10 US Navy soldiers it had detained in the Gulf. A dramatic series of events started with the sailors - nine men and a woman - being taken into custody after their two patrol boats drifted into Iranian territory late on Tuesday.
US and Iranian officials scrambled to defuse the situation, which unfolded as the nuclear accord edged toward its final steps, with a top Iranian official saying the deal should be implemented by Sunday. The detention of the sailors raised alarm in Washington but after informal talks with Tehran, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had been set free. "Following their apology, they have been released to international waters in the Gulf," said a statement read out on state television, noting the sailors had not entered Iranian waters intentionally and had no "hostile intent". Video footage showed the Navy personnel with their hands on their heads as they were apprehended. But other footage showed them eating a meal and drinking water, some smiling, while sitting on Persian rugs.
One sailor told Iranian state television that the crew had been treated well during their detention. "It was a mistake and that was our fault and we apologise for our mistake," he said. The Pentagon confirmed they had been freed and that there was no indication that the sailors had been harmed. "The Navy will investigate the circumstances that led to the sailors' presence in Iran," it said. Admiral Ali Fadavi, the naval commander of the Guards, said an investigation established that "this trespassing was not hostile or for spying purposes".
Instead "a broken navigation system" had led them astray, he said. US officials had said one or both of the boats experienced mechanical problems and they had been taken to Farsi Island, which lies roughly midway between Iran and Saudi Arabia in the Gulf and houses a base of the Guards, which has its own naval units.