DHAKA: The US Navy has demoted the commander of 10 US sailors who entered Iranian territorial waters and were briefly detained in January.

In a statement, the US Navy said it had lost confidence in Eric Rasch, who was in charge of a riverine squadron at the time of the incident in the Gulf, BBC reports on Friday (May 13).

The sailors were released after intense diplomacy between US Secretary of State John Kerry and top Iranian officials.

On Thursday, the US Navy official said that Cmdr Rasch had failed to provide effective leadership, leading to a lack of oversight,
complacency and failure to maintain standards in his unit.

In January, the sailors - nine men and a woman - were detained when one of their two vessels broke down while training in the Gulf.

They were then taken to Farsi Island, in the middle of the Gulf, where Iran has a naval base.

The incursion was ‘unintentional’ the Iranian Revolutionary Guards were quoted as saying at the time.

The sailors were released after about 15 hours, and after Iran said they apologized.

BDST: 1656 HRS, May 13, 2016
SAS/RR