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ISLAMABAD, May 4 (Reuters) – The U.S. has evacuated 22 crew members held aboard an Iranian container vessel \u200cto Pakistan and will hand them over to \u200cIranian authorities on Monday, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said, calling the move a “confidence-building measure”.<\/p>\n
Here \u200bare some details.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Iranian-flagged Touska, part of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) that has been hit with sanctions by Washington, was boarded and seized by the U.S. off \u200cthe coast of \u2060Iran’s Chabahar port in the Gulf of Oman last month.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The U.S. Central Command had said \u2060the ship’s crew failed to comply with repeated warnings over six hours, and the vessel was in violation of a \u200bU.S. blockade.<\/p>\n
\u2022 \u200bIran had condemned the \u200bincident as “unlawful and a violation” \u200cof international law, and demanded the immediate release of the vessel, its sailors, and their families.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The ship will also be moved to Pakistani territorial waters for return to its owners after necessary repairs, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said on \u200cMonday.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The U.S.-Israeli war on \u200bIran, which began in February, was \u200bsuspended four weeks ago \u200bafter the countries declared a fragile ceasefire. \u200cHowever, Washington and Tehran have since \u200bengaged in \u200bnaval confrontations and seizures of each other’s commercial vessels.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Peace talks were held last month in Pakistan, which \u200bhas been trying \u200cto negotiate an agreement, but did not culminate in \u200ba deal.<\/p>\n
(Reporting by Mubasher Bukhari, writing by Sakshi \u200bDayal; Editing by YP Rajesh)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n