Islamabad, May 4 -- The US has evacuated 22 crew members held aboard an Iranian container vessel to Pakistan and will hand them over to Iranian authorities on Monday, Pakistan's foreign ministry said.
Pakistan called the repatriation of the crew as "a confidence-building measure by the United States of America" aimed at easing tensions.
The vessel, Iranian flagged - M/V Touska, part of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), was seized by US forces in the Gulf of Oman last month after, according to US Central Command, it attempted to bypass a naval blockade despite repeated warnings. US forces fired at the engine room of the vessel, which was already sanctioned by the US.
Iran condemned US action and termed it as an act of "...