- Crew transferred after US seizure of Iranian vessel.
- Ship to undergo repairs before return process.
- Pakistan facilitating coordination between US and Iran.
The Foreign Office (FO) on Monday confirmed that 22 Iranian crew members, aboard the seized container ship by the United States last month, have been evacuated to Pakistan and will be handed over to Iran today under a “confidence-building measure”.
“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,” FO spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said in a post on X.
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The development comes after a Centcom spokesperson told ABC News that US forces had transferred 22 crew members of the Iranian container ship MV Touska to Pakistan for repatriation after the vessel was intercepted while attempting to breach a US naval blockade.
Six other individuals, identified by Iranian state media as family members of the crew, had already been moved to another regional country.
Touska, part of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) that has been hit with sanctions by Washington, was boarded and seized by the US off the coast of Iran’s Chabahar port in the Gulf of Oman last month.
The US Central Command had said the ship’s crew failed to comply with repeated warnings over six hours, and the vessel was in violation of a US blockade.
Iran had condemned the incident as “unlawful and a violation” of international law, and demanded the immediate release of the vessel, its sailors, and their families.
Meanwhile, the FO spokesperson said that the crew members were flown to Pakistan last night and will be handed over to Iran today.
“The Iranian ship will also be backloaded to Pakistani territorial waters for return to its original owners after necessary repairs,” the spokesperson said, adding that returns “are being coordinated in tandem with the support of both the Iranian and US sides”.
Andrabi further stated that Pakistan “will continue to facilitate dialogue and diplomacy while pursuing ongoing mediation efforts for regional peace and security”.
The US-Israeli war on Iran, which began in February, was suspended four weeks ago after the countries declared a fragile ceasefire. However, Washington and Tehran have since engaged in naval confrontations and seizures of each other’s commercial vessels.
Pakistan has emerged as a key mediator between the US and Iran, with the highest-level talks between the two sides taking place last month in Islamabad. A second round is yet to take place as talks have hit a snag.
— With additional input from Reuters
