Sailors at time of capture
Sailors at time of captureScreenshot

Iranian website IRIB News published dramatic photos on Wednesday night depicting the 10 American navy sailors released earlier today at the time of their capture on Tuesday.

According to the official Tasnim News Agency, the nine men and one woman were initially captured by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps after a mechanical failure caused them to drift into Iranian territorial waters off the coast of the Farsi islands, which host an IRGC base.

The images show the 10 terrified sailors, forced onto their knees with their hands atop their heads, as their captors rifle through the paperwork and machine guns on deck.

Soon afterwards, Fars news agency published a short video clip of the moment the sailors were captured:

Following the initial Iranian reports, the Pentagon confirmed Wednesday the 10 sailors had been released and said it has already launched an investigation into how the vessel ended up in Iranian waters.

US Secretary of State John Kerry issued a thank you to the Iranian regime, while Vice President Joe Biden denied the US had to apologize to secure the release of the sailors. 

"I want to express my gratitude to Iranian authorities for their cooperation ‎in swiftly resolving this matter,” he said. "That this issue was resolved peacefully and efficiently is a testament to the critical role diplomacy plays in keeping our country safe, secure, and strong."