US Navy: Detained Sailors Provided Sensitive Information to Iran

The US Navy claims that sailors who were detained for a period by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the Persian Gulf provided sensitive information to Iranian officials. Reuters reported on Thursday, July 1, citing a US Navy investigative report, that the sailors, during the less than 24 hours they were detained, shared sensitive information with the military forces of the Islamic Republic. This information included passwords for the sailors' phones and laptops, as well as technical and military capabilities of the advanced boats they were on. The US Navy will also punish eight of its sailors who were detained for a time in the Persian Gulf by Iran. France's news agency reported, citing a US Navy official, that the punishment for these sailors 'will not be judicial.' The US Navy had previously dismissed two of its commanders in connection with this incident. The Associated Press also reported, based on the US Navy's investigative report, that 'weakness in leadership and decision-making, lack of combat readiness, and a range of other issues' led to the temporary detention of 10 US Navy sailors by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the Persian Gulf. The report added that six sailors and three volunteers joining the Navy have been or will be punished in connection with this incident. Admiral John Richardson, commander of naval operations for the US Navy, announced the findings of this investigation at a press conference at the Department of Defense (Pentagon). Admiral Ali Fadavi, commander of the IRGC Navy, had also stated in the open session of the Islamic Consultative Assembly last year that 'we extracted a lot of information from the laptops and phones of American military personnel, and it is available depending on the decision that is made.' The IRGC detained 10 US Navy sailors on January 11, 2016, in Iranian territorial waters in the Persian Gulf while they were en route from Kuwait to Bahrain. Both Iran and the US confirmed that the boats had experienced technical difficulties and had unintentionally entered Iranian waters. Iran released them less than 24 hours later. The US and international legal experts believe that the detention of these sailors by Iran was contrary to international law, while the forces that detained the American sailors were praised by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of Iran, and other officials of the Islamic Republic.