The Portuguese government is “expectant” about the Iranian foreign minister’s announcement to release the crew of a Portuguese-flagged ship linked to Israel early, recalling that it has always defended their release and that of the crew.
A source in the office of Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel confirmed the conversation between the Portuguese leader and his Iranian counterpart.
According to the Portuguese MFA published on social media, in that conversation Paulo Rangel insisted on the “release of the ship and crew” and “made a strong appeal for military restraint to avoid an escalation of war in the region”.
As part of the efforts to free the MSC Aries, the Portuguese government, through Paulo Rangel, has presented detailed political, legal and humanitarian grounds for the immediate release of the ship and crew, the same Portuguese MFA source told Lusa.
The Portuguese government is therefore “hopeful” that the situation will be resolved.
Iran seized the Israeli-bound ship at a time when it was expecting a response from its side to the April 1 attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria, attributed to Tel Aviv, which killed seven members of the Revolutionary Guard, including three generals.
Hours after the container ship was captured, Tehran launched a retaliatory offensive with hundreds of missiles and drones against Israeli territory.
Tehran regularly captures oil tankers and cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf.
On January 11, another ship was boarded in the Sea of Oman and transferred to Iranian waters.