New York, April 22 -- Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeed Iravani, has formally urged the global body to press the United States to immediately and unconditionally release the Iranian commercial vessel Touska, along with its crew and their families, as reported by Iranian state broadcaster Press TV.

In a letter sent on Tuesday to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the president of the Security Council, Ambassador Iravani raised "urgent concern" over what he described as ongoing international law violations by the United States, including the deliberate targeting of Iranian commercial ships.

Iravani detailed the incident involving the Touska, stating that US forces had captured the vessel in the Sea of Oman near Ir...