{"id":125250,"date":"2026-05-04T19:58:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T14:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?p=125250"},"modified":"2026-05-04T19:56:52","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T14:56:52","slug":"fo-says-22-crew-members-on-iranian-ship-seized-by-us-have-been-evacuated-to-pakistan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125250\/","title":{"rendered":"FO says 22 crew members on Iranian ship seized by US have been evacuated to Pakistan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Web Desk(National Times)- The Foreign Office (FO) said on Monday that as a \u201cconfidence-building measure\u201d by the United States, 22 crew members on an Iranian ship that was seized by US forces had been evacuated to Pakistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The statement came hours after American outlet ABC News<\/em> reported that an Iranian ship seized by the US after it \u201cfailed to comply\u201d with the blockade <\/a>imposed by the country on Iranian ports had been transferred to Pakistan for repatriation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUS forces completed the transfer of 22 crew members of M\/V Touska to Pakistan for repatriation,\u201c the report quoted US Central Command Spokesperson Captain Tim Hawkins as saying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSix other passengers were already transferred to a regional country for repatriation last week,\u201d he said. According to the report, Iranian state media identified the six as family members of some of the crew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCustody of Touska is currently being transferred back to its original ownership after the ship was intercepted and seized when attempting to violate the US naval blockade against Iran last month,\u201d Hawkins said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Subsequently, FO Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said on the social media platform X, \u201cAs a confidence-building measure by the United States of America, twenty-two crew members held aboard the seized Iranian container ship, \u2018MV Touska\u2019, have been evacuated to Pakistan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe individuals, who were flown to Pakistan last night, will be handed over to the Iranian authorities today,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Iranian ship will also be backloaded to Pakistani territorial waters for return to its original owners after necessary repairs,\u201d Andrabi said, adding that these returns were being coordinated in tandem with the support of both sides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPakistan welcomes such confidence-building measures and will continue to facilitate dialogue and diplomacy while pursuing ongoing mediation efforts for regional peace and security,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ship was boarded and seized by US forces on April 19. The small container ship, which was part of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) group that has been hit with US sanctions, was boarded off the coast of Iran\u2019s Chabahar port in the Gulf of Oman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the time, the US Central Command said <\/a>the ship\u2019s crew \u201cfailed to comply with repeated warnings over a six-hour period\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAmerican forces issued multiple warnings and informed the Iranian-flagged vessel it was in violation of the US blockade,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iran\u2019s foreign ministry had condemned the incident as \u201cunlawful and a violation\u201d of international law and demanded the immediate release of the vessel, its sailors and their families. Iran\u2019s military had said the ship had been travelling from China and accused \u200bthe US of \u201carmed piracy\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hormuz, a key shipping lane off the coast of Iran, has been virtually blocked<\/u><\/a> by Tehran since the United States and Israel started bombing<\/u><\/a> Iran on February 28.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some vessels attempting to transit the Strait have reported being fired on, and Iran seized several other ships. Last month, the US imposed its own blockade of ships from Iranian ports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the country would start helping free ships stranded in the Gulf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump provided few details about the plan, dubbed \u201cOperation Freedom\u201d, which he said would start on Monday to aid ships and their crews that have been \u201clocked up\u201d in the vital waterway and are running low on food and other supplies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have told these Countries that we will guide their Ships safely out of these restricted Waterways, so that they can freely and ably get on with their business,\u201d Trump said in a post on his Truth Social site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Hundreds of ships and as many as 20,000 seafarers have been unable to transit the strait during the conflict, according to the International Maritime Organisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

US Central Command said it would support the effort with 15,000 US military personnel, more than 100 land and sea-based aircraft along with warships and drones. The operation aims to \u201crestore freedom of navigation for commercial shipping\u201d through the strait, it said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response to Trump\u2019s announcement, a senior Iranian official warned on Monday that Tehran would consider any US attempt to interfere in the Strait of Hormuz a breach of the ongoing ceasefire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAny American interference in the new maritime regime of the Strait of Hormuz will be considered a violation of the ceasefire,\u201d Ebrahim Azizi, head of the national security commission in Iran\u2019s parliament, posted on X.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Web Desk(National Times)- The Foreign Office (FO) said on Monday that as a \u201cconfidence-building measure\u201d by the United States, 22 crew members on an Iranian ship that was seized by US forces had been evacuated to Pakistan. 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