Ten American sailors who were detained by Iran overnight have been released unharmed "after they apologized" for wandering into Iranian-claimed waters, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. said in a statement released this morning.
The Pentagon confirmed Wednesday morning that the sailors were released and unharmed.
The IRGC ultimately determined that the sailors' entry was not intentional. These photos were released Wednesday morning, Gulf time:
Sepahnews via AP
This picture released by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2016, shows American Navy boats in custody of the guards in an undisclosed location in Iran.
Sepahnews via AP
This picture released by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2016, shows detained American Navy sailors in an undisclosed location in Iran.
Sepahnews via AP
Sepahnews via AP
The sailors - nine men and one woman - were reportedly being held at an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps base on Farsi Island in the Persian Gulf. Iran had originally told the US that the sailors would be returned "promptly," but ended up detaining them overnight.
The semiofficial Fars news agency in Iran said that members of the hardline IRGC had confiscated GPS equipment from the boats, according to The New York Times. The news agency said the data from the equipment would "prove that the American ships [were] 'snooping' around in Iranian waters."
Google Earth/Amanda Macias/Business Insider
In his final State of The Union address on Tuesday night, US President Barack Obama made no mention of the incident.