17 Indians stranded on Israeli ship captured by Iran

Recently, Iran's Navy had captured an Israeli ship coming towards India in the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz. There were 17 Indians on board this ship as crew members. All of which are now under the control of Iranian officials.

Efforts continue to bring back Indians safely:

• Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdullahian has announced that Tehran will soon allow Indian officials to meet its 17 people.
• On April 14, 2024, Indian Foreign Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar had talked to the Foreign Minister of Iran for the safe return of these 17 Indians.

Background of the case:

• The Iranian Navy had captured this ship of an Israeli billionaire coming towards India in the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz. There were 17 Indians and people from many other countries on board this ship.
• First the Israeli ship was attacked by helicopter and after this it was captured by the Iranian Navy.
• The name of this ship is MSC Aries and it was last seen on 12 April 2024 heading from Dubai towards Hormuz. This ship was coming from Dubai towards India, but was caught midway.
• The MSC Aries ship had its tracking data turned off. Israeli ships often turn off tracking data when passing through the area.

Request for assistance from Tehran:

• Foreign Minister Jaishankar had spoken on phone with Iran's Foreign Minister H. Amirabdollahian and Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz on the night of 14 April 2024.
• In the conversation held on the evening of 14 April 2024, the situation created due to the Iran-Israel conflict was discussed. During this time, there was also discussion on the safe return of 17 Indians present on the ship captured by Iran. Along with this, assistance was requested from Tehran.

Meeting will be held soon:

• Regarding the safe return of 17 Indians, the Iranian Foreign Minister said that his government is working on the details related to the seized cargo ship. He said that a meeting of representatives of the Government of India with the crew would be organized as soon as possible.

Iran took revenge by firing 330 missiles at Israel:

• In fact, on April 1, 2024, Israel carried out an air strike on Iran's diplomatic mission in Syria's capital, Damascus. Two top Iranian commanders were killed in the attack. In response, Iran fired 330 missiles at Israel late at night on 12 April 2024. Drone attacks were also carried out during this period.

Iran's demand from international:

• The Iranian Foreign Minister called for India's continued role through international institutions, including the UN Security Council, to stop the war in Gaza as well as the Israeli offensive in the Palestinian enclave.
• He reiterated Iran's demand for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and for peace and security in the region from the Mediterranean shores to the Red Sea.

India urges both sides to return to diplomacy:

• Jaishankar had raised the issue of 17 crew members stranded on the MSC Aries plane during a phone conversation with the Foreign Minister of Iran.
• Foreign Minister Jaishankar had tweeted that he had spoken to the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, H. Amirabdollahian.
• During this, it was emphasized that both the countries should avoid increasing tension, exercise restraint and urged to return to diplomacy.