Iran has freed the seven of 25 crew members from the Portuguese flagged ship MSC Aries, which was seized on April 13. Amongst these seven crew members are five Indians.
Portugal's Foreign Ministry has confirmed the release of the seven crew members. It stated that five Indians, one Estonian and one Filipino were released by Iran.
While Portugal welcomed the release, it demanded the "immediate release" of the remaining 17 crew abroad the MSC Aries. MSC Aries was seized near the Strait of Hormouz amid tensions between Israel and Iran.
Why Did Iran Seize The Ship?
Tehran stated that the ship was captured due to its "Israeli links". The ship was captured parallel to the drone attacks Iranian forces launched towards Israel as a response to the Damascus attacks.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy seized the container ship MSC Aries, with 17 Indian nationals onboard. The vessel was observed on on April 12, heading towards the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Dubai.
At the time of the capture, a spokesperson from the Iranian foreign ministry stated that it was "certain that this ship belongs to the Zionist regime".
On April 16, Portugal summoned Iran's ambassador and demanded the release of the vessel and its crew members. Iran agreed to consider their release on April 27.
Following the seizure of the ship, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also spoke with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and discussed the release of the Indian nationals on board.
On board MSC Aries were 17 Indian nationals, four Filipinos, two Pakistanis, one Russian, and one Estonian. As per the latest update, seven of these members have been released by Iran.
