back to jim miklaszewski just for a moment. re not talking about amaya guez here, but we we hear the words safe and well, we should explain about these waters, tolerances are quite thin and are enforced. there are often a number of vessels from the various nations there, and down between them, in international waters, passes some big ticket, large vessels, doing the, of t business of the persian gulf. >> that's right. they're very crowded and disputed waters. you'll recall a couple of weeks ago, that when an american aircraft carrier group was transiting the strait of hormuz that the iranians carried on a very aggressive, live fire operation, very close to that carrier battle group in international waters, causing some consternation there. so iran for some period of time has harassed, not only u.s. warships, but we've seen before where they've seized tanker ships, they've harassed other military warships that go through the strait of hormuz in those hotly contested waters. that's why, when the first reports flashed here in the p

let's get the latest pentagon correspondent jim miklaszewski. >> reporter: two heavily armed u.s. u.s. sailors, nine men and one woman were headed for bahrain y ran into trouble and the iranians. u.s. military officials tell nbc news one of the boats reportedly developedmechanical problems. both boats drifted off course into iranian territorial waters off the island of the middle of the gulf. according to officials, the iranian coast guard quickly seized the two boats. claims once ashore ten americans were turned over to the notorious revolutionary guard. ituation is difficult to resolve when it becomes public. >> the seize your sentmediate shock waves through washington and the timing could not have been worse. with only hours before the president's state of the union address, the iranians acknowledged it was an accident and that the ten americans would be released back to the u.s. u.s. officials say theiranians acknowledged it was an accident and that the ten americans would be released back to the u.s. with iranian officials. who have confirmed for us a couple of things. first, the

but as jim miklaszewski reports, dangerous conditions are hampering the rescue. >> reporter: two navy destroyers off the coast of hawaii, part of a desperate search for 12 marines missing after their helicopters crashed into the pacific. the two super-star helicopters were on a night time training mission three miles off the north shore of oahu when tragedy struck. u.s. military officials say it helicopters collided in mid-air, exploding in a fire ball that could be seen from shore. a collision so catastrophic there were no radio distress calls from either helicopter. james lindley was an eyewitness. >> all i saw was a big ball of fire. i mean, big. >> reporter: the search area is massive. the debris field from the fallen helicopters now stretches 18 miles across the coast of oahu. but rough seas have hampered the search efforts. >> imagine that sea state, one with the whitecaps that are there, and two, the big waves and the swells, it is very difficult to find things right now. >> reporter: but how could this have happened? marine corp pilots say night time maneuvers in combat or tra

nbc's jim miklaszewski from the pentagon. >> reporter: the images are jarring. the ten american sailors on their knees, hands clasped behind their heads on the deck of their own u.s. navy vessel, surrounded by armed iranian military. the video shot by the iranians and aired on iranian-state television. once on shore, more videos of the americans, nine men and one woman in confinement and sharing a meal in show they were well treated. one of the sailors apologized for entering iranian territorial waters. >> it was a mistake that was our fault and we apologize for our mistake. >> it is unclear what were the circumstances when the video was taken. u.s. military officials call the video pure propaganda. the u.s. sailors were released early today. the two boats returned secretary of state john kerry pulled out all diplomatic stops to personally negotiate the americans' release. calling iran's foreign minister at least five times over ten hours, according to a senior state department official. >> i'm appreciative for the quick and appropriate response of the iranian a

jim miklaszewski pentagon. >> reporter: the the ten american their knees, hands clasped behind their heads on the deck of their own u.s. navy vessel. surrounded by armed military. iranians and aired on iranian-state on. one said more videos of the americans, nine men and one woman in confinement and sharing a meal in showey were well treated. one of the sailors apologized for entering iranian territorial waters. >> it was a mistake fault and we apologize for our mistake. >> it is unclear what were the circumstances when the video was taken. u.s. militarcials call the video pure propaganda. the u.s. sailors were released early today. the two boats returned to the u.s. navy.etary of state john kerry pulled out all diplomatic stops to personally negotiate the americans' release. calling iran's foreignnister at least five times over ten hours, according to a senior state department official. >> i'm appreciative for the quick and ate response of the iranian authorities. >> reporter: iran's foreign minnist chblt let's learn from the latest example. but foreign policy experts warn that iran

jim miklaszewski, thank you. we'll have full coverage as the story develops coming up tonight on "nbc nightly news." a reminder, at 9:00 eastern, we're back with the president's state of the union address. news in washtoday mexican authorities allowed the media to tour the home where drug lord joaquin "el chapo" guzman hid before his arrest. "el chapo" was caught friday, six months after escaping a maximum security prison. n-b-c's gabe gutierrez has more. 1:07-1:13 this morning rolling stone magazine released the full 17- minute interview that joaquin el chapo guzman did for sean penn. in that interview he says that freedom is beautiful and that no matter what happens to him, the world's appetite for drugs will continue. we were able to tour the safe house that mexican authorities raided on friday. in it we found a chaotic scene... bullet-riddled walls as well as a secret passage way that led to a tunnel underground where el chapo and a top lieutenant tried to make their escape... traveling for about a half mile

jim miklaszewski, nbc news, the pentagon. >>> there is more tonight on a growing international health problem. the spread of a mosquito-born virus linked to birth defects, and the cdc will tell pregnant women to avoid travel to a dozen countries in latin america and the caribbean. we have the latest >> reporter: in northern brazil, a door-to-door military campaign to dump out stagnant water and warn pregnant women to guard against mosquitos, thought to be carrying the zika virus. researchers believe that it is behind a dramatic spike in the number of newborns with babies born with abnormally small heads and brains who often die. the latest numbers is close to 4,000 cases in just the past year in brazil. a typical year brings fewer than 200. now the cdc is sending two teams to brazil. zika has spread through the caribbean, central and south america and now the cdc issuing a travel warning for pregnant women. >> the brain develops constantly through pregnancy and there could be insults that affect the brain at any time that could cause problems. >> reporter: pregnant women in the hot zo

let's get the latest from our pentagon correspondent jim miklaszewski. >> reporter: two heavily armed u.s. navy riverine boats like these with ten u.s. sailors, nine men and one woman, were headed for bahrain when they ran into iranians. u.s. military news one of the boats reportedly developed mechanical problems. course into iranian territorial waters off the island of farsi in the middle of the persian gulf. according to officials, the iranian coast guard quickly seized the two boats. iran claims once ashore ten americans the notorious revolutionary guard. >> any situation is resolve when it becomes public. timing could not have been worse. with hours before the president's state of the union address, u.s. officials say the it was an accident and that the ten americans would be released back >> u.s. authorities have been in touch with iranian officials who have confirmed for us a couple of things. they have confirmed safe and they have assured us that our sailors will be allowed to resume their journey. >> reporter: if not, it could cost iran billions of dollars in the nuclear deal

lester. >> jim miklaszewski, thanks. >>> the story playing out against the back drop of years of bad history between the u.s. and iran. but also the delicate nuclear deal. and as mik mentioned, the president about to speak to the nation. mitchell now. what is going on behind the scenes today? >> it has been frantic. politically this could not have happened at a worse time. hours before the state of the union address. when the president had planned to talk about the fact that iran had gotten rid of the nuclear fuel and nuclear deal lifting the sanctions was only days away from being implemented. so behind the scenes it was a scramble. secretary kerry ran out of a meeting with top officials from the philippines to call minister zarif. explaining they had sailed into the waters by accident. after a while iranian officials called back and promised the release of the sailors promptly. but republican critics like jeb bush and marco rubio are saying this exposed his iran policy. state officials say it proves exactly the opposite. if this happened a year ago before kerry and iran negotiated

let's get the latest from our pentagon correspondent jim miklaszewski. >> reporter: two heavily armed u.s. navy riverine boats u.s. sailors, nine men and one woman were headed for bahrain when they ran into trouble and the iranians. u.s. military officials tell nbc news one of the boats reportedly developed mechanical problems. both boats drifted off course into iranian territorial waters off the island of farsi in the middle of the gulf. according to officials, the iranian coast guard quickly seized the two boats. iran claims once ashore ten americans were turned over to the notorious revolutionary guard. >> any situation is difficult to resolve when it becomes public. >> the seize your sent immediate shock waves through washington and the timing could not have been worse. with only hours before the president's state of the union address, u.s. officials say the iranians acknowledged it was an accident and that the ten americans would be released back to the u.s. u.s. officials say the iranians acknowledged it was an accident and that the ten americans to the u.s. >> u.s. authorities