U.S. Navy fires commander of sailors held by Iran

Reuters
Iranian students re-enact a scene from the arrest of American sailors by Iran's Revolutionary Guard, during a ceremony marking the 37th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, in Tehran February 11, 2016. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/TIMA

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy said on Thursday it has fired the commander of the 10 American sailors who wandered into Iranian territorial waters in the Gulf in January and were briefly captured by Iran.

In a statement, the Navy said it lost confidence in Commander Eric Rasch, who was the executive officer of the coastal riverine squadron that included the 10 sailors at the time of the Iran incident.

(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Writing by Eric Beech and Phil Stewart; Editing by Chris Reese)