American sailors who were detained by Iran in January gave away too much information to their captors and were seized in the Gulf following a series of missteps by the crew and their superiors, the US Navy has said in a report.
The report, released on Thursday, said some of the 10 crew members, detained at gunpoint on January 12 by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), had revealed sensitive information, such as phone and laptop passwords, to the Iranians.
At the time of their capture, an international incident that rattled nerves days before the implementation of a nuclear accord between Iran and world powers, the sailors were in transit in two vessels from Kuwait to Bahrain.
Iran used the detentions for propaganda purposes that kept the incident in the headlines for weeks afterward.
The US Navy report blamed the incident on poor planning, leaders who did not properly consider risks, and complacency amid a lack of oversight and low morale.
The report cited the instance of one crew member revealing details to the Iranian interrogators such as the top speed of his vessel and that it conducted "presence" missions.
"It is clear that some, if not all, crew members provided at least some information to interrogators beyond name, rank, service number and date of birth," the report said.
Indeed, some crew members told the Iranians the capabilities of their vessels, and passwords to their personal phones and laptops, the report said.
The report redacted names, but the Navy last week identified the commander of the boats' task force as Captain Kyle Moses and said he had been relieved of his command.
