Thousands Of Secret U.S. Military Documents Seized By Iran’s Revolutionary Guard When American Sailors Were Detained In January

According to a commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Tehran has received “thousands” of valuable US military documents, when detained a group of US sailors in January.

An unidentified U.S. sailor is seen apologising for his patrol boat having entered Iranian territorial waters in the Gulf by mistake in this still image taken from video taken at an unknown location on January 13, 2016.

“Thousands” of valuable US military documents have been seized by Tehran, when a group of US sailors was detained by Iranian navy in a trespassing incident in January, a commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Second Naval Zone General Ali Razmjou, said on Sunday.

“We seized thousands of pages of valuable intelligence from the US marines during their detention,” the Fars news agency quoted the words of Razmjou.

The type of information or content of the intercepted files was not disclosed by the General. However, his claim seems to support the June’s US Navy report, according to which some US seamen, captured by Iranians, could share sensitive information, including information on the capabilities of their vessels, with their captors.

“It is clear that some, if not all, crew members provided at least some information to interrogators beyond name, rank, service number and date of birth,” the report read.

The incident took place on January 12, when two US vessels were intercepted by the Iranian Navy near Iran’s Farsi Island in the Persian Gulf. According to the Pentagon, the ships were on their way from Kuwait to the US naval base in Bahrain, but had to drift into Iranian waters due to mechanical problems. The IRGC detained nine men and one woman, who were onboard.

Footage, showing the process of the detention, made US Secretary of State John Kerry to use his diplomatic channels to secure the liberation of the US servicemen just hours later. However, the confrontation level between the two navies in the region was increased by the incident.

The US continues to insist Tehran is harassing its warships in the region, while Iran maintains that the country’s sovereignty is violated by the US and its allies. According to reports, there have been more than 30 close encounters with Iranian ships by US vessels from the beginning of this year.
On September 21, Lieutenant Commander of the IRGC Navy, General Alireza Tangsiri, noted that a number of ships was intercepted and detained the Iran’s Navy over the past year.

“The IRGC Navy has detained American and British trespassers twice and the Canadians and Australians once in the Persian Gulf,” he said.
In July, the General said that US and their allies’ warships have been warned to stay out of Iranian territorial waters.

Recently, US officials have raised a growing alarm about the risk of an escalation at sea between the two states. However, Washington keeps on provoking Tehran, flying or sailing in close proximity to the country’s borders.

Southfront