Twenty-two Iranian sailors who spent weeks aboard a ship seized by the U.S. Navy are back home, Iranian state media reported on Monday. IRNA said 15 of the 22 crossed into Iran at the Rimdan border terminal in Sistan-Baluchistan.
Their route home ran through Pakistan. Earlier that day, Pakistan’s Foreign Office said the 22 crew members of the container ship MV Touska had been evacuated to Pakistan. “As a confidence-building measure by the United States of America, twenty-two crew members held aboard the seized Iranian container ship, ‘MV Touska’, have been evacuated to Pakistan,” spokesperson Tahir Andrabi wrote on X.
How the ship was taken
U.S. forces boarded and seized the Touska last month off Iran’s Chabahar port in the Gulf of Oman. The ship belongs to the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), which Washington has sanctioned. U.S. Central Command said the crew ignored repeated warnings over six hours and that the vessel was violating a U.S. blockade.
Iran called the seizure “unlawful and a violation” of international law and demanded the immediate release of the vessel, its sailors and their families.
A Centcom spokesperson told ABC News that U.S. forces had transferred the crew to Pakistan for repatriation. Six other people, described by Iranian state media as crew family members, had already been moved to another country in the region.
Handover arrangements
Andrabi said the crew were flown to Pakistan the night before and would be handed to Iran that day. The ship itself will go to Pakistani territorial waters and then back to its owners after necessary repairs. The returns, he said, “are being coordinated in tandem with the support of both the Iranian and US sides.”
He added that Pakistan “will continue to facilitate dialogue and diplomacy while pursuing ongoing mediation efforts for regional peace and security.”
The wider standoff
The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began in February and was suspended four weeks ago, when the two sides declared a fragile ceasefire. Since then Washington and Tehran have clashed at sea and seized each other’s commercial vessels.
Pakistan has become the main mediator. The highest-level talks between the two sides took place last month in Islamabad. A second round has not happened because the talks hit a snag.
Sources
- Iran confirms sailors return home after evacuation to Pakistan
- Iranian sailors return home after evacuation to Pakistan, confirms state media
