Iran was holding 10 U.S. Navy sailors and their two small Navy boats after the boats had mechanical problems and drifted into Iranian waters, but American officials have received assurances from Tehran that they will be returned safely and promptly.
Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook told The Associated Press that the riverine boats were moving between Kuwait and Bahrain when the U.S. lost contact with them.
"We have been in contact with Iran and have received assurances that the crew and the vessels will be returned promptly," Cook said.
U.S. officials said that the incident happened near Farsi Island, situated in the Persian Gulf. They said that some type of mechanical trouble with one of the boats caused them to run aground and they were picked up by Iran. The sailors were in Iranian custody on Farsi Island at least for some time, but it's not certain where they are now.
#DOD says 2 .@USNavy riverine boats with 10 crew total detained at Farsi Island, appears crew went w/n 12-mile territorial waters 1/2— Tara Copp (@TaraCopp) January 12, 2016
Multiple agencies have reported that the 10 sailors are 9 men and 1 woman.
Reports from Fars News indicate that some weapons and GPS equipment were seized by the Iranian Coast Guard after they claim the boast entered Iranian waters illegally.
The two boats each had several 50. cal guns and were "snooping around" in Iranian waters, Fars News Agency says— Thomas Erdbrink (@ThomasErdbrink) January 12, 2016
Iran media says Revolutionary Guard navy confiscated GPS equipment belonging to 10 US sailors it has arrested, "our border was crossed."— Thomas Erdbrink (@ThomasErdbrink) January 12, 2016
Secretary of State John Kerry, who forged a personal relationship with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif through three years of nuclear negotiations, called Zarif immediately on learning of the incident, according to a senior U.S. official. Kerry "personally engaged with Zarif on this issue to try to get to this outcome," the official said.
Kerry learned of the incident around 12:30 p.m. EST as he and Defense Secretary Ash Carter were meeting their Filipino counterparts at the State Department, the official said.
WH @PressSec: “We’re still learning more about the precise circumstances” that led to Iran taking custody of U.S. Navy sailors— Jon Passantino (@passantino) January 12, 2016
WATCH: @NBCNews Special Report: US officials: Iran detains 10 American sailors in the Persian Gulf. https://t.co/38rTc6gm2X— NBC Nightly News (@NBCNightlyNews) January 12, 2016
ABC News cited a defense official as saying it appeared as if the sailors and boats would be released to continue their journey Wednesday morning, local time.
US official: "We haven't heard from our guys yet. So we don't know our side of the story of what really happened."— W.J. Hennigan (@wjhenn) January 12, 2016
This comes on the heels of an incident in late December when Iran launched a rocket test near U.S. warships and boats passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The USS Harry Truman carrier group is currently deployed in the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, battling Islamic State militants in Iraq.
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The officials were not authorized to discuss the sensitive incident publicly so spoke on condition of anonymity.