this is happening near iran's farcy island in the persian gulf. what we are told is the u.s. navy lost contact with these two small patrol craft that were carrying a total of ten sailors. they lost contact with them. they got no apparent distress call that we know of at this point. they began a wider area search and quickly determined that the iranian military, iranian naval authorities, apparently had the sailors. diplomacy sprung into action quickly. secretary of state john kerry speaking to his counterparts. we are told, at this hour, that the sailors, u.s. navy sailors, will be allowed by iran shortly, if not already, to continue their voyage, their planned trip from kuwait to bahrain. but i have to tell you, this u.s. official that just finished briefing reporters could not say, at this very point in time, whether the navy sailors have been released by the iranians or whether they left the farcy island and their status. it's a diplomatic dance they are doing now. they are not willing to say at this moment that the u.s. navy sailors are being detained by iran because they

the persian gulf, word came late this afternoon that iran seized two american naval vessels near farcy island. iran says that the boats drifted into iranian waters after suffering mechanical problems and the sailers will be released promptly, that is iran's word, promptly but the timing is suspicious, of course president obama gives his state of the union speech in three hours and it would be embarrassing for him to give the speech with sailors captured by iran. again 10 american sailors are currently detained by iranian authorities. more on this on world news after "action news" at 6:30. >>> we have seen the first flakes of the winter season, this is how it looked in allentown. word is another band of snow is on the way. lets get the latest from meteorologist, adam joseph. >> this is more potent this afternoon the arctic front moving into the western suburbs, as we look at double scan live radar, hamburg approaching reading and swinging down to northern chester county along 322, you see the purples, that is blinding snow squalls coming in with the arctic air and near lebanon between 322 and

american sailors after those two boats had drifted into iranian territorial waters just off of farcy island in the middle of the persian gulf gulf. according to the officials, it was about four hours ago when one of those boats while transiting the persian gulf developed mechanical problems and the two boats drifted into the territorial waters. now, shortly after the ten sailors were seized, secretary of state john kerry got on the telephone to tehran and convinced iranian authorities territory waters off farsi island was a total accident. and now we're told by u.s. officials that the iranians have agreed to within the next couple of hours return those sailors and the two boats to territorial waters and hand them back over to the u.s. navy, lester. >> and just to be clear, you're using the term boats. what kind of vessels are they in terms of their size? >> reporter: these are smaller coastal boats. in this case, there would have been five sailors in each of them, and they're used in combat operations, primarily on coastal waters and on rivers, hence the name riverine. >> you'll be followin

american sailors after those two boats had drifted into iranian territorial waters just off of farcy island in the middle of the persian gulf gulf. according to the officials, it was about four hours ago when one of those boats while transiting the persian gulf developed mechanical problems and the two boats drifted into now, shortly after the ten sailors were seized, secretary of state john kerry got on the telephone to tehran and convinced iranian authorities that the intrusion into iranian territory waters off farsi island was a total accident. and now we're told by u.s. officials that the iranians have agreed to within the next couple of hours return those sailors and the two boats to territorial waters and hand them back over to the u.s. navy, lester. >> and just to be clear, you're using the term boats. what kind of vessels are they in terms of their size? >> reporter: these are smaller coastal boats. in this case, there would have been five sailors in each of them, and they're used in combat operations, primarily on coastal waters and on rivers, hence the name riverine. >> you'll be

we all understand that farcy island is a very sensitive intelligence facility for the iranians. looking for propaganda tool here in which they used very, very effectively. over the last couple of days, we've seen numerous videos, numerous still pictures. some of them are disturbing. one of them compares the iranian treatment of our sailors versus what we did to the iraqis in abu ghraib. i mean, that level of reporting on social media and in the media. this raises so many questions about what they were doing there. 50 miles off the coast. >> jim, within the next few days, the implementation of the iran nuclear deal is about to go forward. and millions of dollars in sanctions relief will go forward to the iranians. walk us through that process. do they get $100 billion right away? is it spread out over a long period of time? >> no one's going to write them a check for $100 billion. where that figure comes from is more than $100 billion in iranian assets have been unfrozen. when those sanctions are lifted, they will have access to them. fact is, many of those funds are due other cr

navy sailors to be pier side on farcy island in the persian gulf an iranian island. the two boats making a trip from bahrain to kuwait. we are told that right now, what the u.s. thinks may have happened is that one of the small boats experienced a mechanical problem, perhaps losing propulsion, perhaps beginning to drift, and of course, the other navy boat would not leave those sailors behind. it was at that point, the theory goes now, that they drifted into iranian territorial waters. it is believed they were picked up by iranian naval personnel from iran's revolutionary guard corps which operates around farcy island. this is one of the most aggressive elements of the iranian military and national security apparatus in that country. right now, iran has assured the u.s. that all ten u.s. sailors are safe, that they are being treated accordingly, and that they will be released, they will be allowed to continue their journey up to bahrain, one ship, a boat, disabled. we don't know the status of that. but this could go on for several hours, wolf, about of it is finally r

sailors were taken into custody and held overnight at an iranian base on the island of farcy. speaking on state tv, the naval chief for the iranian revolutionary guard said the unprofessional acts before being picked up and the sailors were taken into custody without much resistance. >> so the only people in america -- >> reporter: any mention of the detainment was left out of president obama's state of the union address, as u.s. officials worked to confirm the status of the crew. on tuesday, secretary of state john kerry spoke directly with his iranian counterpart and was personally assured the sailors would be well treated. >> as a former sailor myself, i know as well as anybody how important our naval presence is around the world. certainly in the gulf region. and i could not be, and i know the president could not be prouder of our men and women in uniform. i also want to thank the iranian authorities for their cooperation and quick response. these are always situations which, as everybody here knows, guided, to get out of control. and i'm appreciative for the quick and app

sailors were taken into custody and held overnight at an iranian base on the island of farcy. speaking on state tv, the naval revolutionary guard said the american vessels were engaged in unprofessional acts before being picked up and the sailors were taken into custody without much resistance. >> so the only people in america -- >> reporter: any mention of the detainment was left out of president obama's state of the union address, as u.s. officials worked to confirm the status of the crew. on tuesday, secretary of state john kerry spoke directly with his iranian counterpart and was personally assured the sailors would be well treated. >> as a former sailor myself, i know as well as anybody how important our naval presence is around the world. certainly in the gulf region. and i could not be, and i know the president could not be prouder of our men and women in uniform. i also want to thank the iranian authorities for their cooperation and quick response. which, as everybody here knows, have an ability if not properly guided, to get out of control. and i'm appreciative for th