What happened
Iranian sailors who had been evacuated to Pakistan after being released by the United States crossed the border into their home territory on Monday, Iranian state media reported. According to the news agency IRNA, 15 of the 22 sailors crossed through the Rimdan border terminal in Sistan-Baluchistan.
Earlier, Pakistan’s Foreign Office said that, as a “confidence-building measure” by the United States, 22 crew members of an Iranian ship seized by US forces had been evacuated to Pakistan. The statement came hours after the American outlet ABC News reported that an Iranian ship seized by the US after it “failed to comply” with a US blockade had been transferred to Pakistan for repatriation.
“US forces completed the transfer of 22 crew members of M/V Touska to Pakistan for repatriation,” ABC News quoted US Central Command spokesperson Captain Tim Hawkins as saying. “Six other passengers were already transferred to a regional country for repatriation last week,” he said; Iranian state media identified the six as family members of some of the crew. Hawkins added that custody of the Touska was being transferred back to its original ownership.
How Pakistan described its role
Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said on X that the 22 crew members held aboard the seized Iranian container ship had been evacuated to Pakistan as a confidence-building measure by the United States. “The individuals, who were flown to Pakistan last night, will be handed over to the Iranian authorities today,” he said, adding that the Iranian ship would also be backloaded to Pakistani territorial waters for return to its original owners after necessary repairs. Andrabi said the returns were being coordinated with the support of both sides.
Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar said on X that the developments “surely constitute an important confidence-building measure”. Expressing Pakistan’s appreciation to the United States and Iran, Dar said Islamabad remained committed to facilitating dialogue, diplomacy and mediation for regional peace and security.
Background to the seizure
The ship was boarded and seized by US forces on 19 April. The small container ship, part of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines group that has been hit with US sanctions, was boarded off the coast of Iran’s Chabahar port in the Gulf of Oman. US Central Command said at the time that the crew “failed to comply with repeated warnings over a six-hour period” and that the vessel was in violation of the US blockade.
Iran’s foreign ministry condemned the incident as unlawful and a violation of international law, and demanded the immediate release of the vessel, its sailors and their families. Iran’s military said the ship had been travelling from China and accused the United States of “armed piracy”.
The wider Hormuz standoff
Hormuz, a key shipping lane off the coast of Iran, has been virtually blocked by Tehran since the United States and Israel began bombing Iran on 28 February. Some vessels attempting to transit the Strait have reported being fired on, and Iran has seized several other ships; last month the United States imposed its own blockade on ships from Iranian ports.
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the country would begin helping free ships stranded in the Gulf under a plan he called “Operation Freedom”, starting on Monday. US Central Command said the effort would be supported by 15,000 military personnel and more than 100 land- and sea-based aircraft, warships and drones, aiming to restore freedom of navigation for commercial shipping. A senior Iranian official, Ebrahim Azizi, head of the national security commission in Iran’s parliament, warned on Monday that any US interference in the “new maritime regime” of the Strait of Hormuz would be considered a violation of the ceasefire.
What is still uncertain
The precise terms under which the Touska’s custody is being returned to its owners, and the timing of the remaining sailors’ onward movement, were not spelled out in the statements. The 15 sailors reported by IRNA to have crossed the border were said to have reached Iranian territory, but the whereabouts and onward plans of the other crew members and the six family members were not immediately confirmed. The handover is being characterised by Islamabad as a confidence-building measure rather than a settlement of the wider dispute over the Strait of Hormuz.
Sources & reporting notes
This is a synthesis of published material, not eyewitness reporting. Sources were reviewed on 2026-05-04.
- Primary source — Dawn: “Iranian sailors evacuated to Pakistan return home, state media confirms”4 May 2026 · Reports the M/V Touska crew evacuation, the Foreign Office and Ishaq Dar statements, the April seizure and the wider Strait of Hormuz standoff.
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