Pentagon: 2 US Navy boats held by Iran but will be returned

"Certainly, everybody should be aware of the fact we have been in touch with the Iranians and they have assured us that our sailors are safe and that they'll be allowed to continue their journey promptly", Earnest said.

USA officials said that the incident happened near Farsi Island, situated in the middle of the Persian Gulf. The boats are small in size and apparently were within 12 nautical miles of Iranian territory when they ran into mechanical failure.

"We subsequently have been in communication with Iranian authorities, who have informed us of the safety and well-being of our personnel", the senior administration official said.

The US sailors are being held on Farsi Island, a small island in the Persian Gulf that is home to an Iranian Revolutionary Guard base.

We still don't know the reason why the boats were stopped but Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook says the USA has been in touch with the Iranians. FARS also reported that one of the 10 sailors was a woman.

The incident marks the latest run-in between Iranian and US crews.

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

Once the UN nuclear agency confirms Iran's actions to roll back its programme, the United States and other Western powers are obliged to suspend wide-ranging oil, trade and financial sanctions on Tehran.

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