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| Iran’s Swift Release of U.S. Sailors Hailed as a Sign of Warmer Relations | Iran’s Swift Release of U.S. Sailors Hailed as a Sign of Warmer Relations |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| WASHINGTON — A crisis over the seizing of two American patrol boats in the Persian Gulf was averted Wednesday when Iran returned the craft and released their crews as Pentagon officials struggled to explain how the boats had ended up near a major Iranian naval base. | WASHINGTON — A crisis over the seizing of two American patrol boats in the Persian Gulf was averted Wednesday when Iran returned the craft and released their crews as Pentagon officials struggled to explain how the boats had ended up near a major Iranian naval base. |
| Their quick release was hailed by the Obama administration as an unintended benefit of the new diplomatic relationship with Iran established by the nuclear accord negotiated between Tehran and the United States and five other nations in July. The accord is expected to go into effect next week, ending the oil and financial sanctions imposed on Iran over the past decade, and giving it access to around $100 billion in frozen funds. | Their quick release was hailed by the Obama administration as an unintended benefit of the new diplomatic relationship with Iran established by the nuclear accord negotiated between Tehran and the United States and five other nations in July. The accord is expected to go into effect next week, ending the oil and financial sanctions imposed on Iran over the past decade, and giving it access to around $100 billion in frozen funds. |
| Thanking the Iranians for their cooperation, Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday that “we can all imagine how a similar situation might have played out three or four years ago.” | Thanking the Iranians for their cooperation, Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday that “we can all imagine how a similar situation might have played out three or four years ago.” |
| Mr. Kerry negotiated the release in at least five phone calls with Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister. Senior American officials described the American-educated Mr. Zarif as clearly worried that the episode could sink the nuclear accord on which he and President Hassan Rouhani have staked their legacies. | Mr. Kerry negotiated the release in at least five phone calls with Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister. Senior American officials described the American-educated Mr. Zarif as clearly worried that the episode could sink the nuclear accord on which he and President Hassan Rouhani have staked their legacies. |
| Mr. Kerry, one of his top aides said, in essence told Mr. Zarif at one point that “if we are able to do this in the right way, we can make this into what will be a good story for both of us.” | Mr. Kerry, one of his top aides said, in essence told Mr. Zarif at one point that “if we are able to do this in the right way, we can make this into what will be a good story for both of us.” |
| But it is still not clear how much influence Mr. Zarif had over the events: The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps has been engaged in an open power struggle with Mr. Rouhani’s government. It is still not clear who decided to release the sailors. | But it is still not clear how much influence Mr. Zarif had over the events: The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps has been engaged in an open power struggle with Mr. Rouhani’s government. It is still not clear who decided to release the sailors. |
| Even as Mr. Kerry was describing the release on Wednesday morning, American military officials were offering new explanations about how the two 49-foot patrol boats, formally called riverine command boats, had ended up in Iranian territorial waters while cruising from Kuwait to Bahrain. | |
| After first suggesting that a mechanical failure had disabled at least one of the boats, they acknowledged that there was no mechanical problem. Both boats were returned to the United States under their own power, leaving Pentagon officials to untangle the chain of events that led to the episode. | After first suggesting that a mechanical failure had disabled at least one of the boats, they acknowledged that there was no mechanical problem. Both boats were returned to the United States under their own power, leaving Pentagon officials to untangle the chain of events that led to the episode. |
| But they could not explain how the military had lost contact with not one but both of the boats. Several officials noted that the crew members were relatively young, junior enlisted sailors. They were commanded by a lieutenant, and Iranian government-controlled television was playing video on Wednesday of one of the sailors, apparently the lieutenant, apologizing for entering Iranian territorial waters. | But they could not explain how the military had lost contact with not one but both of the boats. Several officials noted that the crew members were relatively young, junior enlisted sailors. They were commanded by a lieutenant, and Iranian government-controlled television was playing video on Wednesday of one of the sailors, apparently the lieutenant, apologizing for entering Iranian territorial waters. |
| “It was a mistake; that was our fault, and we apologize for our mistake,” the sailor said. “My navigation system showed I was in Iranian waters but I made a mistake and entered.” | “It was a mistake; that was our fault, and we apologize for our mistake,” the sailor said. “My navigation system showed I was in Iranian waters but I made a mistake and entered.” |
| A Defense Department official said that the Navy lieutenant’s filmed apology was probably intended to defuse a potentially volatile situation. There are military rules of engagement that advise American prisoners of war to disclose as little information as possible to their captors. But the United States and Iran are not at war, and such rules would not apply, the official said. | A Defense Department official said that the Navy lieutenant’s filmed apology was probably intended to defuse a potentially volatile situation. There are military rules of engagement that advise American prisoners of war to disclose as little information as possible to their captors. But the United States and Iran are not at war, and such rules would not apply, the official said. |
| The riverine boats were used on the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers during the Iraq war and now operate in pairs in the relatively cramped Persian Gulf. They often come to the edge of Iranian waters, which extend 12 miles off the coast of Farsi Island, Navy officials said. | |
| “When you’re navigating in those waters, the space around it gets tight,” said one Navy officer with extensive experience in the gulf. | “When you’re navigating in those waters, the space around it gets tight,” said one Navy officer with extensive experience in the gulf. |
| But that is hardly a new problem, and the boats’ crews would almost surely have mapped out their course in advance, paying close attention to the Iranian boundary waters. And each boat has radio equipment on board, so it was unclear how the crews suddenly lost communication with their base unless they were surrounded by Iranian vessels before they could alert their superiors. | But that is hardly a new problem, and the boats’ crews would almost surely have mapped out their course in advance, paying close attention to the Iranian boundary waters. And each boat has radio equipment on board, so it was unclear how the crews suddenly lost communication with their base unless they were surrounded by Iranian vessels before they could alert their superiors. |
| “Look, these are kids riding around in cool, cammy boats,” said the Navy officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss operational details, referring to the boat’s camouflaged exterior. | “Look, these are kids riding around in cool, cammy boats,” said the Navy officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss operational details, referring to the boat’s camouflaged exterior. |
| As details trickled in to the Pentagon, senior military officials expressed dismay about the episode. | As details trickled in to the Pentagon, senior military officials expressed dismay about the episode. |
| “The Iran story is frankly embarrassing,” said one senior Defense Department official, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal assessments. “We still do not know all of the facts, but these guys and gal apparently were just poor mariners.” | “The Iran story is frankly embarrassing,” said one senior Defense Department official, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal assessments. “We still do not know all of the facts, but these guys and gal apparently were just poor mariners.” |
| Along with every other encounter with Iran these days, the episode fit into opposing story lines: an administration account of Washington and Tehran inching toward a new relationship, and an alternative one, put forth by opponents of the nuclear deal, in which the White House is being outmaneuvered by the mullahs, Iranian commanders and English-speaking Iranian diplomats. | Along with every other encounter with Iran these days, the episode fit into opposing story lines: an administration account of Washington and Tehran inching toward a new relationship, and an alternative one, put forth by opponents of the nuclear deal, in which the White House is being outmaneuvered by the mullahs, Iranian commanders and English-speaking Iranian diplomats. |
| Mr. Kerry emphasized Wednesday that the sailors had been well treated, given “blankets and food” and released as soon as the sun rose over the Persian Gulf. He cast that as a benefit of renewed dialogue with the country, and thus a vindication of President Obama’s engagement strategy. | Mr. Kerry emphasized Wednesday that the sailors had been well treated, given “blankets and food” and released as soon as the sun rose over the Persian Gulf. He cast that as a benefit of renewed dialogue with the country, and thus a vindication of President Obama’s engagement strategy. |
| An alternative account came from Senator John McCain of Arizona and other Republicans. Mr. McCain said the argument “that the Iranian nuclear deal somehow aided in these sailors’ return is ludicrous,” adding, “These sailors were ‘arrested’ in apparent violation of international law and centuries of maritime custom and tradition” because their boat was in distress. | An alternative account came from Senator John McCain of Arizona and other Republicans. Mr. McCain said the argument “that the Iranian nuclear deal somehow aided in these sailors’ return is ludicrous,” adding, “These sailors were ‘arrested’ in apparent violation of international law and centuries of maritime custom and tradition” because their boat was in distress. |
| “This administration’s craven desire to preserve the dangerous Iranian nuclear deal at all costs evidently knows no limit,” Mr. McCain said. | “This administration’s craven desire to preserve the dangerous Iranian nuclear deal at all costs evidently knows no limit,” Mr. McCain said. |
| The quick release of the sailors was in sharp contrast to an episode almost nine years ago, involving Britain, that turned into a major international standoff. | |
| In March 2007, as the United Nations was just beginning sanctions against Iran, 15 British marines were arrested by the Revolutionary Guards Navy, which accused them of entering Iranian waters. The marines were held for 13 days before the government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, then the Iranian president, set them free during a televised farewell ceremony in which they were given new suits and carpets as parting gifts. | In March 2007, as the United Nations was just beginning sanctions against Iran, 15 British marines were arrested by the Revolutionary Guards Navy, which accused them of entering Iranian waters. The marines were held for 13 days before the government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, then the Iranian president, set them free during a televised farewell ceremony in which they were given new suits and carpets as parting gifts. |
| A prominent conservative Iranian analyst with ties to the senior leadership emphasized that in the current episode, both sides had sought to keep tensions low. | A prominent conservative Iranian analyst with ties to the senior leadership emphasized that in the current episode, both sides had sought to keep tensions low. |
| “This time, the Americans were cooperative in proving their innocence, and they quickly accepted their faults without resistance,” the analyst, Hamidreza Taraghi, said in an interview. “The sailors apologized for having strayed into Iranian waters.” | “This time, the Americans were cooperative in proving their innocence, and they quickly accepted their faults without resistance,” the analyst, Hamidreza Taraghi, said in an interview. “The sailors apologized for having strayed into Iranian waters.” |
| Denis McDonough, the White House chief of staff, said that it was too early to draw “big lessons” from the episode, but that it was clear the rapport Mr. Kerry had developed with Mr. Zarif was crucial to resolving it. | Denis McDonough, the White House chief of staff, said that it was too early to draw “big lessons” from the episode, but that it was clear the rapport Mr. Kerry had developed with Mr. Zarif was crucial to resolving it. |
| “Secretary Kerry’s aggressive and early engagement in this, and open channel that he had and he has with his foreign minister counterpart, is important,” Mr. McDonough said Wednesday at a breakfast with reporters in Washington. “I do think that the open lines of communication, which are relatively new, are extraordinarily important.” | “Secretary Kerry’s aggressive and early engagement in this, and open channel that he had and he has with his foreign minister counterpart, is important,” Mr. McDonough said Wednesday at a breakfast with reporters in Washington. “I do think that the open lines of communication, which are relatively new, are extraordinarily important.” |