Iran holding two US Navy boats and crew: Pentagon
Iran is holding two US Navy boats and their crews, the Pentagon has confirmed.
The Pentagon said it lost contact with the two small vessels on Tuesday but Iran has reassured the Americans their personnel and crafts will be returned safely and promptly.
There were 10 sailors on board the small ravine boats and they are now being held on Farsi Island in the Persian Gulf.
Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said the boats were moving between Kuwait and Bahrain when they lost contact with them, the Associated Press reports.
"We have been in contact with Iran and have received assurances that the crew and the vessels will be returned promptly," he said.
It is being reported one of the vessels encountered mechanical problems near Fasi Island.
US Secretary of State John Kerry immediately got on the phone following the capture in attempt to secure the sailors' release.
Mr Kerry has forged a personal relationship with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif over three years of nuclear negotiations.
The secretary "personally engaged with Zarif on this issue to try to get to this outcome," an unnamed official said.
Mr Zarif assured Mr Kerry the vessels would be allowed to continue on their journey.
The seizure comes just days after the America released video taken by military aircraft in December they say shows Iranian naval vessels tested rockets in the Strait of Hormuz while US military and merchant vessels cruised nearby.
A US military commander said at the time the tests were "highly provocative".