A crisis over the seizing of two American patrol boats in the Arab Gulf was averted Wednesday when Iran returned the craft and released their crews as Pentagon officials struggled to explain how the boats had ended up near a major Iranian naval base, The New York Times newspaper reported.

Their quick release was hailed by the Obama administration as an unintended benefit of the new diplomatic relationship with Iran established by the nuclear accord negotiated between Tehran and the United States and five other nations in July. The accord is expected to go into effect next week, ending the oil and financial sanctions imposed on Iran over the past decade, and giving it access to around $100 billion in frozen funds.

Thanking the Iranians for their cooperation, Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday that “we can all imagine how a similar situation might have played out three or four years ago.”

Kerry negotiated the release in at least five phone calls with Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister. Senior American officials described the American-educated Mr. Zarif as clearly worried that the episode could sink the nuclear accord on which he and President Hassan Rouhani have staked their legacies.

Mr. Kerry, one of his top aides said, in essence told Mr. Zarif at one point that “if we are able to do this in the right way, we can make this into what will be a good story for both of us.”

But it is still not clear how much influence Mr. Zarif had over the events: The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps has been engaged in an open power struggle with Mr. Rouhani’s government. It is still not clear who decided to release the sailors.

Source: MENA