A U.S. official told Fox News Wednesday there is no timeline for the release of 10 U.S. Navy sailors who were detained by Iran after entering the waters near an Iranian naval base.
The official said “nobody knows†on the U.S. side knows why Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces were able to commandeer two Navy riverine boats and detain the crew. The status of the two vessels remains unknown and the official wouldn’t readout any specific arrangements made between the U.S. and Iran for the crew’s release.
The U.S. military is still waiting for Iran to release the sailors as the noon hour approaches in the Persian Gulf.
Iran Revolutionary Guard said earlier Wednesday that any report that 10 detained U.S. Navy sailors would soon be released was “speculation,†while the unit’s naval chief said the country’s foreign minister had demanded an apology from the U.S. for entering Iranian waters.
Revolutionary Guard naval chief Gen. Ali Fadavi told state TV Wednesday that the American boats showed "unprofessional acts" for 40 minutes before being picked up by Iranian forces.
"Certainly US presence in Persian Gulf and their passage has never been innocent and we do not deem their passage as innocent," he said, adding that Iran Foreign Minister Javad Zarif "had a firm stance (during a telephone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry) on their presence in our territorial waters and said they should not have come and should apologize."
Fadavi also said the Guard will carry out orders from the country's top leadership over the case.
Fadavi’s comments put a damper on hopes the sailors would quickly be released after being held overnight at an Iranian Naval base on Farsi Island in the Persian Gulf. A senior military official had told Fox News he was hopeful that the sailors would be returned to a U.S. ship in the region at that time.
“What others say about the sailors’ prompt release is their speculation, and I don’t confirm or deny it,†Guard spokesman Ramazan Sharif was quoted as saying in an interview with Tasnim news agency, according to Reuters.
Sharif said the sailors will be debriefed."If it is determined, after the investigation is carried out, that their action was not intentional, another approach will be taken," he said. "But if it's determined, after they are debriefed and interviewed, that their entry [into Iranian waters] was for intelligence gathering or irrelevant action, definitely the authorities will take the necessary measures."
The incident came amid heightened tensions with Iran, and only hours before President Barack Obama gave his final State of the Union address to Congress and the public. Obama did not mention the sailors in his speech, which lasted approximately one hour.
After the address, Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., the ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, expressed his hope for a quick resolution.
"It's a very serious issue," Cardin said. "I hope this is resolved in hours. If not, I think it escalates."
GOP presidential candidate Ted Cruz said the detention of the sailor's was a "manifestation of the weakness of Obama's foreign policy."
"Our enemies don't fear us," Cruz said before adding that his prayers were with the sailors and their families.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/01/13/iran-says-prompt-release-detained-us-sailors-is-speculation.html?intcmp=hpbt1
