April 27 (Reuters)–Iran’s foreign minister said the crew of a seizedPortuguese-flagged ship linked to Israel have been granted consular access and are expected to be freed, Iranian media reported on Saturday.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards seized the container vessel MSC Aries with a crew of 25 in the Strait of Hormuz on April 13, days after Tehran vowed to retaliate for a suspected Israeli strike on its consulate in Damascus. Iran had said it could close the crucialshippingroute.
Recent attacks on merchantshippingin the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis, claiming solidarity with Palestinians inGazaduring Israel’s war with Hamas, have affected globalshipping.
Related Article: Seized Ship’s Cargo Reveals Impact of Iran Tensions on Global Trade
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian told hisPortuguese counterpart Paulo Rangel in a telephone call that the “humanitarian issue of the release of the ship’s crew is of serious concern to us,” Iranian media said.
He was quoted as saying the crew would be turned over to their ambassadors in Tehran. The reports did not say when this would occur.
Iran’s foreign ministry has said the Aries was seized for “violating maritime laws” and that there was no doubt it was linked to Israel.
MSC leases the Aries from GortalShipping, an affiliate of Zodiac Maritime, which is partly owned by Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer.
(Editing by William Mallard)
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2024.
