Interview With Indiana Congressman Andre Carson; Controversy Over Detained Sailors
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, under duress? Dramatic new images of 10 American soldiers ceased by Iran's Revolutionary Guard, one of them now apologizing, possibly by force. Tonight, new information about what happened. Did Iran get its hands on sensitive U.S. military equipment? Jordan's king, my exclusive interview with King Abdullah II. We talk about fighting ISIS and if more can be done by the U.S. and its allies, as well as the growing refugee crisis. What's his reaction to calls to ban Muslims from coming into the United States? Fake missile? New evidence North Korea may have doctored video of a failed missile launch to make it appear successful. Is it the latest effort by Kim Jong-un to desperately flex his country's military muscle? And taking on Trump. From President Obama's State of the Union speech to the official Republican response by South Carolina's governor, Donald Trump getting hit on all sides, and, tonight, what he's saying about the rising GOP star Nikki Haley. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're THE SITUATION ROOM. No official apology from the United States government, but video of an American sailor apologizing for straying into Iranian waters now raising new questions about the seizure of 10 U.S. Navy personnel by Iran's Revolutionary Guard. Iranian state television showed the sailor calling the incident a mistake, saying -- and I'm quoting now -- "It was our fault." It's not clear whether he was forced to make that statement. All 10 sailors were later released. Iran just one of the topics I discuss in my exclusive interview with King Abdullah II of Jordan. He says he's concerned about what Iran may do with hundreds of millions of dollars it's about to receive with the lifting of sanctions as part of the nuclear agreement with the West, $100 billion potentially in the next few weeks. We're standing by for a Donald Trump campaign event and his possible response to the indirect slams against him in President Obama's State of the Union speech and the official Republican response by the South Carolina governor, Nikki Haley. Her remarks have infuriated some conservatives and they're spotlighting a growing divide over Trump inside the GOP. We're covering all of that, much more this hour with our guests, including Congressman Andre Carson. He's a member of the Intelligence Committee. He's one of only two Muslims in the United States Congress. Also, our correspondents and our expert analysts, they are also standing by. Let's begin with Iran's release of those 10 American sailors and an apparent apology by one of them. Our chief security national correspondent, Jim Sciutto, is working the story for us. Jim, we now have some dramatic images of that incident.</s>JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, that's right. And U.S. officials now calling into question the on-camera apology that we see in that Iranian state TV interview with that Navy crew member, a U.S. official saying clearly this staged video exhibits a sailor making an apology in an unknown context as an effort to defuse a tense situation and protect his crew, but the sailor said one more thing again on Iranian state television. That's that the Iranians took control of their boats with guns drawn, weapons drawn and that would run counter to the U.S. officials' narrative of a diplomatic victory in this incident.</s>SCIUTTO (voice-over): U.S. sailors on their knees, their hands up and behind their heads, this is the moment 10 Americans were detained by Iranian Revolutionary Guards after mistakenly entering Iranian waters.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We did not mean to go into Iranian territorial water.</s>SCIUTTO: The sailors spent the night in Iranian custody, fed and given blankets, say Iranian officials, before they were freed early this morning. U.S. officials made clear that Secretary Kerry did not apologize for the incident. But Iranian state TV aired video by what appeared to be an apology by one of the Navy crew.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a mistake that was our fault, and we apologize for our mistake.</s>SCIUTTO: Tonight, it remains unclear if it was made under duress. At 12:13 p.m. local time, Iranian forces released the American sailors from Farsi Island. The sailors departed on the same two riverine command boats they'd been captured on and headed to USS Anzio, a Naval missile cruiser positioned in the Persian Gulf. From the Anzio, the sailors were transferred to the USS Truman aircraft carrier and then flown to shore. Secretary Kerry, who called his Iranian counterpart five times on Tuesday, credited the new diplomatic ties between the two countries for the resolution of a potentially tense standoff.</s>JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I think we can all imagine how a similar situation might have played out three or four years ago. In fact, this kind of issue was able to be peacefully resolved and officially resolved, and that is a testament to the critical role that diplomacy plays in keeping our country safe.</s>SCIUTTO: But, tonight, some are questioning just why U.S. sailors found themselves in this situation in the first place.</s>CHRISTOPHER HARMER, INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF WAR: My concern is that the U.S. Navy's professional incompetence put these sailors in harm's way without giving them clear rules of engagement or a clear exit plan from Iranian territorial waters.</s>SCIUTTO: U.S. and Iranian officials seemingly on point in calling this a diplomatic victory. Iranian Foreign Minister Dr. Javad Zarif tweeting: "Happy to see dialogue and respect, not threats and impetuousness, swiftly resolved the sailors' episode. Let's learn from this latest example." And it is true, Wolf, that you wouldn't have had this diplomatic channel just a couple of years ago, before those nuclear negotiations, which clearly helped to resolve this, but let's keep in mind there are five Americans still being held in Iran, including Jason Rezaian, "The Washington" reporter, and all that friendship, all that diplomatic communication has not led to their release by any means.</s>BLITZER: And Amir Hekmati, a U.S. -- former Marine who has been held for years now as well.</s>SCIUTTO: Exactly.</s>BLITZER: Thanks very much for that, Jim Sciutto. Let's get some more on the investigation. Our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, is working her sources for us. Barbara, it's still not clear how these two boats actually wound up in those Iranian waters, is it?</s>BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Not clear at all, Wolf. The crew is being debriefed, but you're beginning see some ripples of concern, especially from the Republicans. Republican Senator John McCain, of course, a highly decorated veteran and POW himself, raising concerns that the administration isn't taking this seriously enough. Look at this video. This is the Iranians taking video for propaganda purposes of U.S. military personnel and distributing it worldwide. This is not supposed to happen. When mariners are in distress, they are to be rendered aid and then released. The administration very oddly, some feel, not even responding to this notion that the Iranians are using these sailors for their own propaganda value, showing them on their knees, stripped of their weapons, interviewing them. The U.S. Central Command putting -- which governs and oversees military operations in the Middle East, putting out that statement a short time ago saying the sailor was making an apology -- and I quote -- "in an unknown context as an effort to defuse a tense situation and protect his crew." So you see the U.S. Navy sailor in the eyes of the Pentagon trying to protect his crew. The Iranians making these propaganda videos, there is no other purpose for them, and the Pentagon not even responding to it, at least not yet, Wolf.</s>BLITZER: I'm sure they are doing a full review, right, to make sure it doesn't happen again, a postmortem. What are you hearing about that, Barbara?</s>STARR: Indeed, Wolf. They are debriefing the sailors now, we are told, to try and find out what happened. Did, in fact, they have an engine failure? Did that really happen? Was the sailor speaking under duress? Did they make a mistake in their navigation and drift into Iranian waters? Did the Iranians in some sense force them into Iranian waters? These are the things that they are being asked. I think it is logical to assume that somebody in the U.S. military more than 24 hours later after the incident has some indication of what happened, but the sensitivity, because of everything Jim just talked about, the diplomacy, the nuclear agreement, you are just not yet seeing the White House, the Pentagon or the State Department ready to talk about it.</s>BLITZER: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, thank you. Let's dig deeper into all of this with Democratic Congressman Andre Carson of Indiana. He's a member of the House Intelligence Committee. Congressman, thanks very much for joining us.</s>REP. ANDRE CARSON, D-INDIANA: Thank you.</s>BLITZER: What are you hearing? Was this a forced confession, a forced apology by this U.S. sailor?</s>CARSON: Well, what we know at this point is that it was accidental. I think something could be said of the great work that the administration has done, led by Secretary Kerry and his Iranian counterpart, and the Iranians informed us in a very timely fashion, and they are going to release them. And so I think it speaks to the great work of diplomacy that the United States has done in terms of bringing Iran to the table and bringing them further into the world community.</s>BLITZER: There is some concern, as you know, Congressman, that Iran potentially could have extracted sensitive intelligence from the two U.S. military vessels. Are you hearing concern about that?</s>CARSON: At this point, there's no concern. I mean, this isn't an issue of the United States vs. Iran. Again, as I have said, the Iranians have -- they notified the United States in a very timely manner, which we appreciate, and they have promised their release in the next few hours. And so I'm more concerned about Iran coming to the table and coming to the international community and looking at what they will do with a negotiation that is at hand, in terms of the implantation date that we all are waiting for.</s>BLITZER: There's a lot of concern, as you also know, that, yes, these 10 American sailors were released, but there are four or five, six U.S. citizens, including a "Washington Post" reporter, a former Marine, who are still being held by Iran, Iran showing no indication they are ready to give up any of these Americans who are being held in Iran. You want them back, obviously. Should that have been put on the table in exchange for the $100 billion that Iran is about to get in eased sanctions?</s>CARSON: Well, it's something that we are going to have to push the issue on. We have to remember that Iran is still largely considered to be a state sponsor or terrorism, and so as we look at the implantation date that is looming, these are things that we will have to talk about. We are going to be monitoring the situation very closely. But I can say this isn't the time for politicians like myself and some of my colleagues to stir the pot or to even fan the flames. We have to give them time to come through with their promise, and we will see what happens from there.</s>BLITZER: Congressman, stand by. There's a lot more to discuss. And we will take a quick break, much more with Congressman Andre Carson right after this.