Crew of Iranian ship seized by US Navy sent to Pakistan, minister says
The 22 crew members aboard a seized <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/mena/iran/" target="_blank" rel="" title="https://www.thenationalnews.com/mena/iran/">Iranian</a> container vessel have been safely sent to <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2026/04/26/pakistan-trying-to-broker-us-iran-deal-but-prospects-keep-slipping-away/" target="_blank" rel="" title="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2026/04/26/pakistan-trying-to-broker-us-iran-deal-but-prospects-keep-slipping-away/">Pakistan</a> as part of a "confidence-building measure", Islamabad said. The <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/us/2026/04/19/iranian-ship-seized-trump-touska/" target="_blank" rel="" title="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/us/2026/04/19/iranian-ship-seized-trump-touska/">Iranian-flagged Touska</a>, part of Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) that has been hit with US sanctions, was last month boarded and seized by American forces near Iran's Chabahar port in the Gulf of Oman. The US Central Command had said the ship's crew failed to comply with repeated warnings issued over six hours and the vessel was in breach of an American blockade. "The individuals were safely flown in Pakistan last night and will be transferred to Iran today," Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said in a post on X. "The Iranian ship is also being back-loaded to Pakistani territorial waters for its return to its original owners after necessary repairs." Those actions are being carried out with the support of Iranian and the US authorities and "surely constitute an important confidence-building measure", he added. US President <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/donald-trump/" target="_blank" rel="" title="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/donald-trump/">Donald Trump</a> had said that American naval forces shot out the engine room of the ship as it tried to breach the <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/us/2026/04/17/trump-hormuz-blockade-proves-effective-says-us-interior-secretary/" target="_blank" rel="" title="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/us/2026/04/17/trump-hormuz-blockade-proves-effective-says-us-interior-secretary/">naval blockade</a>, then seized the stricken vessel in the Gulf of Oman. Mr Trump said the vessel's attempt to break the blockade "did not go well for them”. Iran condemned the incident as "unlawful and a violation" of international law. It demanded the immediate release of the vessel, its sailors and their families. The Iran war, which began in February, was suspended four weeks ago after Tehran and the US declared a fragile ceasefire. But they have since engaged in naval confrontations and the seizure of commercial vessels. Peace talks were held last month in Pakistan, which has been trying to negotiate an agreement, but the negotiations ended without a deal.