U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter on Thursday addressed this week’s incident in which a group of American sailors were detained by Iran after their Navy boats strayed into Iranian waters in the Persian Gulf.
According to Carter, who was quoted by The Associated Press (AP), it appears a navigational error caused the crews to accidentally enter Iranian waters.
"They did not report this navigational error at the time.
It may be that they were trying to sort it out at the time they encountered Iranian boats.
... We don't know that fully yet," Carter was quoted as having said in an interview in Miami with Fusion network.