Islamabad on Monday confirmed that 22 crew members from an Iranian container ship seized by the US will be flown to Pakistan.
The Foreign Ministry called it a “confidence-building measure” with support from both sides. The crew will then be returned to Iran, a statement said.
The announcement relates to the Iranian-flagged shipping vessel Tauska, which was seized by US forces last month off the coast of Iran’s Chabahar port in the Gulf of Oman. It is part of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), which is sanctioned by Washington.
At the time, Tehran condemned the incident as “illegal” and a violation of international maritime law. US Central Command said the ship’s crew had refused to comply with repeated warnings for six hours that it was violating the US blockade.
Pakistan said it would return the ship to Iran after necessary repairs.
Islamabad has been trying to mediate since the US launched attacks on Iran in late February, but efforts at peace talks have so far yielded little results.
Edited by: Roshni Majumdar