U.S. Navy Rescues Iranians Who Were Captured by Pirates
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Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman has confirmed the rescue of 13 Iranian nationals from Somali pirates near the entrance to the Persian Gulf by the US Navy.
“The [US] action to save [Iranian] sailors from Somali pirates was a humanitarian measure and all countries should take such actions to fight piracy,” Ramin Mehmanparast said Saturday.
He added that just as Iran's Navy has rescued the sailors of other countries from pirates, all states must use their capacities to fight piracy.
According to the Pentagon, the destroyer USS Kidd, one of several warships escorting the carrier USS John C Stennis, rescued the fishermen on Thursday after receiving a distress call from the Iranian fishing vessel. The vessel had been boarded by pirates over a month ago.
The rescue operation began early Thursday when a helicopter from the USS Stennis started tracking a small boat suspected of carrying pirates 175 miles southeast of Muscat, the capital of Oman.
The USS Kidd then made radio contact with the dhow and the captain identified himself as Iranian and initially denied having any pirates on board.
However, when the captain began speaking in his native dialect so that the Somalis could not understand it became clear that he was "under duress," said the Kidd's captain, Cmdr. Jennifer Ellinger, AFP reported.
Sailors from the guided-missile destroyer Kidd boarded the Iranian dhow and detained 15 Somalis. The suspected pirates are being held by the US Navy.
The pirates had apparently been using the Iranian vessel as a "mother ship" to conduct operations.
PressTV - Iran confirms US rescued fishermen
“The [US] action to save [Iranian] sailors from Somali pirates was a humanitarian measure and all countries should take such actions to fight piracy,” Ramin Mehmanparast said Saturday.
He added that just as Iran's Navy has rescued the sailors of other countries from pirates, all states must use their capacities to fight piracy.
According to the Pentagon, the destroyer USS Kidd, one of several warships escorting the carrier USS John C Stennis, rescued the fishermen on Thursday after receiving a distress call from the Iranian fishing vessel. The vessel had been boarded by pirates over a month ago.
The rescue operation began early Thursday when a helicopter from the USS Stennis started tracking a small boat suspected of carrying pirates 175 miles southeast of Muscat, the capital of Oman.
The USS Kidd then made radio contact with the dhow and the captain identified himself as Iranian and initially denied having any pirates on board.
However, when the captain began speaking in his native dialect so that the Somalis could not understand it became clear that he was "under duress," said the Kidd's captain, Cmdr. Jennifer Ellinger, AFP reported.
Sailors from the guided-missile destroyer Kidd boarded the Iranian dhow and detained 15 Somalis. The suspected pirates are being held by the US Navy.
The pirates had apparently been using the Iranian vessel as a "mother ship" to conduct operations.
PressTV - Iran confirms US rescued fishermen
longbrained
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Fars is a newspaper and they can say whatever they want. There are plenty of newspapers in US calling for torture of Muslims and deporting them from US. That does not make it official policy. The Iranian government has already announced its appreciation for freeing its nationals. Though I agree with Fars that the act of Americans publicizing it, filming it, advertising it and even the US navy commander going to BBC Persian and interviewed to explain how good US is to Iranian audience, shows that Americans did not just do it for the good of hostages.
They wanted to send a peace message to Iranians after all the hostilities recently. Americans just wanted to cool angry Iranians abit. That is all. It goes to say, that Americans only understand the language of force. You try to talk to them in a soft voice and they invade you. You threaten with missiles, they sent to pamper some poor fishermen in middle of nowhere to take your attention. The situation speaks for itself. Pakistan should do the same. Ever wondered why US navy never freed Pakistanis captured by pirates, despite US navy ships zig zagging the whole area around the pirates? That is the reason.
longbrained
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Maybe Pakistan should also threaten to close off oil shipping routes so that US navy start saving Pakistanis in Somali captivity too. Because the last time, US navy did nothing to save Pakistanis despite Pakistan being its ally, not even a dry offer of help:
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gambit
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Similar to how Iran publicize any kidnapped Americans as 'CIA spies'. May be we should return this type of 'favor'?
longbrained
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Not much similiarities there. The so called "hikers" were arrested inside Iranian territory while having crossed over a border which still has mine fields from eight year Iran Iraq war. The had crossed from a war torn country, and were citizen of a country continuously threatening and supporting terror acts in Iran. Fishermen were at international sea, some 2000 km from Iran, in a small wooden fishing boat. And even then, it was US media that was advertising the illegal border crossers as hikers and Iran was not doing any advertisement. It would be good if US media and government start advertising the illegal border crossers from Mexico as hikers too, for a change. Now that is something relevant we are talking about.
T90TankGuy
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things seem to have deteriorated along the lines of the Iran-US relationship , they were tolerating each other on the first page of the thread , now looking for a fight on page 5 
gambit
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This is absurd. If CIA agents can disguise themselves as 'hikers' why not Iranian intelligence agents and/or Islamist terrorists disguised themselves as 'fishermen'? Locations where they are caught are irrelevant. Secret agents must cross international waters if necessary to get to their destinations, wherever those might be. Secret agents must cross sovereign territories to get to their final destinations, wherever those might be. There is something fishy about these so called 'fishermen' to me. Good thing we caught them before they got too far from home Iran.
longbrained
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CENTCOM
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The United States Navy did not rescue Iranian fishermen as a publicity stunt. This incident underscores our steadfast commitment to ensuring freedom of navigation around the world, as well as our ongoing commitment to working with our international partners to combat piracy. The presence of U.S. Navy ships in this region promotes freedom of navigation and protects the safety of those who transit the sea.
Did you know that since 2009, the United States has worked with 70 nations and international organizations as part of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia? Among its accomplishments, the Contact Group has:
Facilitated Coordination of International Naval Patrols: the operational coordination of an unprecedented international naval effort from more than 30 countries working together to protect transiting vessels. The United States coordinates with other multilateral coalitions such as NATO through Operation Ocean Shield and the European Union through Operation ATALANTA in these efforts. The United States also looks to further develop counter-piracy cooperation with the full range of nations deploying to the international counter-piracy mission.
Promoted Shipping Self-Protection: Partnered with the shipping industry to improve practical steps merchant ships and crews can take to avoid, deter, delay, and counter pirate attacks, including the private armed security. The shipping industrys use of Best Management Practices and other counter-piracy guidance has proven to be the most effective deterrents against pirate attacks.
Championed Regional Capacity-Building: Strengthened the capacity of Somalia and other countries in the region to combat piracy and prosecute suspected pirates through the UN Trust Fund Supporting Initiatives of States Countering Piracy off the Coast of Somalia; and
Targeted the Pirate Business Model: Launched a new initiative aimed at disrupting the pirates enterprise ashore, including its associated financial networks ashore through approaches similar to those used to target other types of organized transnational criminal networks.
I must remind our readers that this is not a unique phenomenon. In a similar rescue by the USS Bainbridge involved an Iranian fishing vessel held by pirates back in March 2011.
Earlier last year the US navy had rescued a standard Pakistani ship which had run out of food and water after drifting on high seas for days with disabled engines. Further details of the rescue of Iranian vessel, Al Molai, are available here: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/w...-with-somali-pirates.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all
Maj David Never
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U.S. Central Command
Did you know that since 2009, the United States has worked with 70 nations and international organizations as part of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia? Among its accomplishments, the Contact Group has:
Facilitated Coordination of International Naval Patrols: the operational coordination of an unprecedented international naval effort from more than 30 countries working together to protect transiting vessels. The United States coordinates with other multilateral coalitions such as NATO through Operation Ocean Shield and the European Union through Operation ATALANTA in these efforts. The United States also looks to further develop counter-piracy cooperation with the full range of nations deploying to the international counter-piracy mission.
Promoted Shipping Self-Protection: Partnered with the shipping industry to improve practical steps merchant ships and crews can take to avoid, deter, delay, and counter pirate attacks, including the private armed security. The shipping industrys use of Best Management Practices and other counter-piracy guidance has proven to be the most effective deterrents against pirate attacks.
Championed Regional Capacity-Building: Strengthened the capacity of Somalia and other countries in the region to combat piracy and prosecute suspected pirates through the UN Trust Fund Supporting Initiatives of States Countering Piracy off the Coast of Somalia; and
Targeted the Pirate Business Model: Launched a new initiative aimed at disrupting the pirates enterprise ashore, including its associated financial networks ashore through approaches similar to those used to target other types of organized transnational criminal networks.
I must remind our readers that this is not a unique phenomenon. In a similar rescue by the USS Bainbridge involved an Iranian fishing vessel held by pirates back in March 2011.
Earlier last year the US navy had rescued a standard Pakistani ship which had run out of food and water after drifting on high seas for days with disabled engines. Further details of the rescue of Iranian vessel, Al Molai, are available here: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/w...-with-somali-pirates.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all
Maj David Never
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U.S. Central Command
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