The Iranian Navy Command announced that 12 pirates were arrested today, Tuesday.
Iranian media report that Commander Habibollah Sayyari told a press conference that the Iranian navy tangled with the pirates 3,000 kilometres off Iranian waters in the Indian Ocean, which led to the arrest of 12 pirates.
The detainees have been reportedly transferred to Iran and will be handed over to the judiciary.
Sayyari maintained that a trade ship carrying tens of thousands of products was intercepted and stolen by pirates in March as it travelled to Iran from South Africa. He added that two of the ship’s crew were killed and another was injured.
He said the pirates intended to head toward the Somali coast, but Iranian naval forces pursued them. After a 48-hour face-off, 36 hours of which was on board the stolen ship, all the pirates were finally arrested, and the crew was released.
Sayyari said the Iranian navy has had 44 conflicts with pirates in the past year. He added that in the past two years, the Iranian navy has escorted 1,500 ships and in 100 cases has had to deal with pirate attacks.
