Officials from India may soon be able to meet crew from the country who are on a ship seized by Iranian troops.
Seventeen of the 25 crew members on the MSC Aries, a commercial ship with links to Israel, are Indian. Iran's foreign ministry issued a statement after a phone call between top officials of the two countries.
Iranian special forces captured the ship on Saturday off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, hours before Tehran launched an attack on Tel Aviv. Iran launched hundreds of aerial drones and missiles at Israel in the unprecedented attack that has escalated tensions between the countries. Tel Aviv said 99% of the weapons were intercepted.
India has called for an “immediate de-escalation” of hostilities between the two countries and asked them to “step back from violence” and “return to the path of diplomacy”. Foreign Minister S Jaishankar also held phone calls with his counterparts in Iran and Israel.
Iran said that during the call with its Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Mr Jaishankar expressed concerns over the situation of the 17 Indians on the ship and asked for assistance.
“We are following up on the details of the seized ship and soon it will be possible for the representatives of the Indian government to meet with the crew,” said the statement, without mentioning a timeline.
The Portuguese-flagged ship is linked to Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer. The ship is managed by MSC, which leases the vessel from Gortal Shipping Inc – a company affiliated with Mr Ofer's Zodiac Maritime. It was intercepted by Iranian troops when it was about 50 miles (80km) off the coast of the UAE.
Footage obtained by Reuters news agency appeared to show troops rappelling onto the vessel from a helicopter.
Apart from Indians, the crew also has citizens from Pakistan, the Philippines, Russia and Estonia, according to a post on X (formerly Twitter) by Adrienne Watson, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council.
The US and UK have criticised the seizure and called for Iranian forces to immediately release the ship. On Friday, India also issued a travel advisory to its citizens, asking them not to travel to Iran or Israel “until further notice”.
“All those who are currently residing in Iran or Israel are requested to get in touch with Indian Embassies there and register themselves,” the statement said, adding that they were requested to observe “utmost precautions about their safety and restrict their movements to the minimum”.
India has sent hundreds of construction workers to Israel to help the country shore up its workforce after thousands of Palestinians left the country due to the ongoing Israel-Gaza war.
On Monday, the Indian Express newspaper reported that India has decided to delay sending a fresh batch of workers to Israel as it observes the situation in the country.
