10 U.S. Sailors in Iranian custody, Official says
Posted: Jan 12, 2016 4:40 PM CDT
Washington (CNN)Ten American sailors are in Iranian custody, a U.S. defense official told CNN Tuesday.
The official expects the situation to be resolved quickly.
A senior administration official told CNN that the U.S. lost contact with two small U.S. naval craft en route from Kuwait to Bahrain.
"We subsequently have been in communication with Iranian authorities, who have informed us of the safety and well-being of our personnel," the official said. "We have received assurances the sailors will promptly be allowed to continue their journey."
Secretary of State John Kerry called his Iranian counterpart to try to resolve the matter.
"We're aware. We're working on it and we hope to resolve the situation," Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes told CNN.
Iranian representatives at the U.N. mission in New York had no comment.
CNN's Jim Acosta contributed to this report.