US navy patrol boat (file)
US navy patrol boat (file)Reuters

Iranian state TV has released new footage purportedly showing an American sailor crying while in captivity.

The footage shows one of 10 US Navy sailors rubbing his eyes and apparently wiping away tears with a tissue, and has already been widely shared by Iranian journalists on social media.

It is just the latest humiliating footage of the sailors publicized by the Iranian regime as part of its propaganda efforts. An initial batch of images and footage showed the nine men and one woman surrendering to Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces when their vessel accidentally strayed into Iranian waters last month.

Iranian state media later released a clearly pre-scripted interview with the captain of the American ship, which also showed how the one woman crew-member had been forced to wear a Muslim headscarf.

The calculated humiliation of the captive sailors is likely in breach of international law, specifically the Geneva Conventions, which ban the parading of prisoners for propaganda purposes.