Iran Releases Seven Crew Members of Detained Gulf Ship
Lisbon welcomes the release of the seven individuals, renewing its demand for the immediate release of the 17 people who remain detained with the ship for a month
Iran has released seven crew members of a container ship flying the Portuguese flag detained last month in the waters of the Gulf over alleged links to Israel, Lisbon announced Thursday, as Tehran appears to seek to contain Western pressures.
The Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement: “Seven crew members of the MS Aryz ship were released today, Thursday, noting that the individuals concerned are five Indians, one Filipino, and one Estonian, the only European in the crew which comprised 25 people”, reminding that an Indian national had left the ship as announced by Tehran on April 18.
Tehran had said on April 27 that its Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, assured his Portuguese counterpart Paulo Rangel that Iran “cares about the humanitarian issue of releasing the ship’s crew” detained by the naval force of the Revolutionary Guards over alleged links with Israel near the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf.
This comes amid heightened tensions between arch-foes Iran and Israel, days after the destruction of Tehran’s consulate in Damascus in a strike attributed to the Hebrew state and hours before the Islamic Republic launched hundreds of missiles and drones towards Israel in response to the consulate targeting.
Tehran had affirmed through its Foreign Ministry spokesperson that the ship was detained “due to its violation of international shipping rules and failure to respond appropriately to the concerned Iranian authorities”, indicating that “based on the information… the detained ship belongs to the Zionist entity”.
On April 16, the Portuguese Foreign Ministry summoned Iran’s ambassador to Lisbon to demand the immediate release of the ship and its crew.
Lisbon welcomed on Thursday the release of some crew members, renewing its demand for the immediate release of the 17 individuals still detained with the ship.
In recent years, Iran has seized several ships and tankers in the Gulf waters, fueling tensions with the United States which has threatened to put an end to Iranian threats to the security of navigation in the region.
Washington has stressed it will not allow any international power to threaten the freedom of navigation through the waterways of the Middle East, including the Strait of Hormuz through which a fifth of the world’s oil exports pass.
