Iran announced on Saturday that it will release the crew members of the ship “MSC Aries” seized in the Strait of Hormuz on April 13, including an Estonian national.
“The humanitarian issue of releasing the ship’s crew is very important to us,” Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahia said in a telephone conversation with his Portuguese counterpart. “We have provided consular access to their ambassadors in Tehran and notified the envoys that the crew members will be released and extradited.”
It has already been announced that on the morning of April 13 near Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf, which is important in global trade, and the Gulf of Oman, paramilitary paramilitary troops of the Revolutionary Guard of Iran landed from a helicopter on a container ship connected to Israel. Iran’s state news agency IRNA informed that a special unit of the Guard’s naval forces attacked the ship “MSC Aries”, which flies the Portuguese flag but is associated with the London-based company “Zodiac Maritime”.
After the ship was seized, Portugal summoned the Iranian ambassador to demand the immediate release of the ship.
“Zodiac Maritime” is part of “Zodiac Group” controlled by Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer. “Zodiac” did not comment on the incident. The Geneva-based company MSC admitted that its ship had been seized with 25 crew members on board.
The press service of the National Security Council of the US White House informed that the ship’s crew includes citizens of India, the Philippines, Pakistan, Russia and Estonia. The US called on Iran to release the crew and the ship.
As tensions rise in the Middle East, Iran-backed Yemeni Shiite Houthi rebels have also repeatedly attacked ships they say are linked to Israel.
Tags: Iran promised release sailors seized ship including Estonian citizen
