John Kerry “Angry” over Footage of Iran Capturing American Sailors
New footage depicting how Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) captured the 10 American sailors last Tuesday has been released, and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is not too happy about it.
"I was very angry. I was very, very frustrated and angry that that was released," Kerry told John Berman on CNN's "New Day." "I raised it immediately with the Iranians. It was not put out by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the government directly, it was put out I think by the military over there, the (Revolutionary Guard), who is opposed to what we are doing."
The video shows American troops being held at gunpoint with their hands behind their heads. The American sailors were captured last Tuesday after two vessels accidentally veered into Iranian waters due to a mechanical issue in one of the boats.
Quick negotiations on both parts resulted in the release of the soldiers within 24 hours after being held captive.
In regards to those negotiations, Kerry said, "I'm not going to discuss what I said or didn't say, but suffice it to say I made it crystal clear how serious this was, it was imperative to get it solved ... and within hours we had an agreement."
The U.S. Military addressed the situation on Monday, stating that the soldiers and Iranian personnel had a verbal exchange prior to being released. There are not details regarding what was said. The Military added that during captivity, Iranian personnel had removed two SIM cards out of the soldiers' satellite phones. Both sides did not open gunfire.
The sailors were all in good health upon their release.