TEHRAN, 27 June 2007 — Iran has arrested the crew of three Emirati boats it has seized for illegal entry and fishing in its territorial waters in the Gulf, the semi-official Fars news agency reported yesterday.
“Three boats were seized today at 9 a.m. by coast guards 17 (nautical) miles from Abu Musa toward Bandar Lenge,” the head of the Fisheries Department of the Hormozgan province, Musa Badiee, told Fars. “Seventeen Indians and six Emiratis were arrested for illegal entry into Iranian waters and illegal fishing,” he added.
On May 1, the United Arab Emirates arrested 12 Iranian divers who were working on a sunken ship 18 nautical miles off the disputed Abu Musa Island in Gulf waters.
Abu Musa and the islands of Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb are the center of a maritime dispute between the UAE and Iran. The islands were seized by Tehran after British forces left the Gulf in 1971 but are claimed by Abu Dhabi.
In June, Iran detained three Finnish nationals for entering Iranian waters by mistake during a fishing trip in the Gulf. The men were released after five days.
In March, Iranian naval forces seized 15 British sailors and Marines in the Gulf, claiming they had entered Iran’s territorial waters. Britain insisted they had been engaged in anti-smuggling operations in Iraqi waters.
The group was freed by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad after two weeks in captivity.
