Title: Iran Working on Releasing Crew of Detained Ship "Ares"

Iranian media reported today, Saturday, that Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian stated that the crew of a detained ship flying the Portuguese flag and linked to Israel have managed to contact their consulates and are expected to be released. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps detained the container ship "Ares," belonging to the "MSC" company, with a crew of 25 members in the Strait of Hormuz on April 13, following threats from Tehran to respond to an attack it claims was carried out by Israel on its consulate in Damascus. Iran threatened to close the vital shipping corridor. Global shipping operations have been affected by recent attacks by Iranian-aligned Yemeni Houthis on commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, which they stated were in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza war. The Iranian media cited the foreign minister as telling his Portuguese counterpart Paulo Rangel during a phone call, "We care about the humanitarian issue of releasing the crew of the ship." He was quoted stating that the crew members will be handed over to their ambassadors in Tehran. Reports did not specify a timeline for their release. The Iranian Foreign Ministry stated that the detention of the “Ares” ship was due to “violations of maritime laws” and that it is undoubtedly linked to Israel. "MSC" leases the Ares from "Gortal Shipping," a company that is part of "Zodiac Maritime," in which Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer has a stake.