http://thehill.com/policy/defense/265608-report-iran-has-custody-of-two-navy-boatsUS officials scramble after Iran takes two Navy ships into custody
By Kristina Wong - 01/12/16 04:18 PM EST
Iran has taken two small U.S. Navy ships into custody, Pentagon officials said Tuesday, creating a diplomatic scramble just hours before President Obama's State of the Union address.
A senior defense official said two U.S. Navy riverine craft were going from Kuwait to Bahrain when they encountered Iranian military vessels. Ten American sailors were taken into military custody, the official said.
"They ran into some type of an issue, and were picked up by the Iranian craft," the official said, who added the issue is not yet understood.
"Subsequently, U.S. and Iranian government officials have discussed the situation and negotiated their transit," the official said.
"They're being allowed to continue their journey," said the official, who did not want to characterize whether the Americans were being escorted by the Iranian vessels.
"We have received assurances the sailors will promptly be allowed to continue their journey."
A second senior defense official said earlier that the Pentagon had "lost contact" with the U.S. boats and had been in communication with Iranian authorities.
Deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters Tuesday the U.S. is working to resolve the situation so that American personnel are returned to "normal deployment."
“We are working on it and we are hopeful we will be able to resolve the issue," Rhodes said.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State John Kerry has been "in touch with Iranian authorities on this issue," according to a senior administration official.
The incident erupted just ahead of Obama's final State of the Union address, which he hopes to use to tout legacy items including the nuclear deal with Iran — an agreement that Republicans on Capitol Hill fiercely oppose.
Iran is just days away from receiving certification that it has met its obligations under the nuclear pact, opening the door to billions of dollars in sanctions relief.
Sen. Barbara Boxer, a Democrat from California, downplayed Tuesday's incident on MSNBC. She said the two U.S. ships had a “mechanical problem” and weren’t “planning to be anywhere near Iran-claimed territory.”
“Hopefully this will be resolved and it won't be an issue we’ll be talking about in a couple of hours,” Boxer said.
But Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) floated that perhaps Obama should delay his State of the Union address until members of Congress are briefed on the situation.
"I think the White House needs to be honest and transparent as quickly as possible with the members of the Congress, the House and the Senate — perhaps that even means a delay to the start of the State of the Union tonight to talk about exactly what happened," Gardner said on CNN.
Gardner cited Iran's apparent "pattern of aggravating action," including taking ships under the U.S. flag and recently testing ballistic missiles in spite of sanctions.
Iran a few weeks ago conducted a live-fire exercise just 1,500 yards away from a U.S. and French aircraft carrier that were transiting in the Strait of Hormuz with little notice, an action that defense officials blasted as "unnecessarily provocative and unsafe."
White House press secretary Josh Earnest said on CNN's "The Lead" that he was "confident" there will be officials from the National Security Council briefing members of Congress about the administration's talks with Iran.
"Certainly the United States has been concerned with the kind of provocative, destabilizing actions that have been a hallmark of Iranian behavior over the last several decades," Earnest said.
— This story was last updated at 5:27 p.m.
