2 US Navy boats reportedly in Iranian custody

Iran has reportedly told the US that the crew will be returned "promptly."

The Pentagon says it briefly lost contact with two small Navy craft in the Persian Gulf on Tuesday but has received assurances from Iran that the crew and vessels will be returned safely and promptly.

Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook told AP that the boats were moving between Kuwait and Bahrain when the US lost contact with them.

The boats apparently experienced mechanical difficulties and drifted into Iranian-claimed waters while the 10 sailors aboard were on a training mission, officials told NBC. Iran has now seized the 10 American sailors, who are reportedly being held at an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. base on Farsi island in the Persian gulf.

Cook says, "We have been in contact with Iran and have received assurances that the crew and the vessels will be returned promptly."

The White House says it is working to resolve the situation, Reuters reported.

"We are working to resolve the situation such that any US personnel are returned to their normal deployment. We are hopeful it will be resolved," White House Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters.

Secretary of State John Kerry, who has 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.

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 officials were not authorized to discuss the sensitive incident publicly so spoke on condition of anonymity.

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