US Transfers Seized Iranian Vessel to Pakistan

(MENAFN) A vessel intercepted by American naval forces after defying a blockade on Iranian ports has been handed over to Pakistan, with its crew set for repatriation to Iran, US media reported Sunday — citing US Central Command (CENTCOM).

"Today, US forces completed the transfer of 22 crew members of M/V Touska to Pakistan for repatriation," a broadcaster quoted CENTCOM Spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins as saying.

Hawkins further disclosed that six additional individuals aboard had already been transferred to an undisclosed regional country for repatriation the previous week. Iranian state media identified those six as family members of certain crew, though CENTCOM did not respond to a request for independent confirmation. Authorities in both Pakistan and Iran have similarly declined to verify the account.

The M/V Touska was seized by US naval forces on April 19 in the Gulf of Oman, after the vessel allegedly refused to comply with blockade directives — a move that brought it directly into the crosshairs of American enforcement operations targeting Iranian maritime routes.

The handover marks the latest development in an increasingly tense standoff, as Washington presses forward with economic and military pressure on Tehran while navigating the diplomatic complexities of crew transfers through third-party nations.

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