TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s government Saturday welcomed the U.S. Navy’s rescue of 13 Iranian fishermen held by pirates, calling it a positive humanitarian gesture.
U.S. officials announced Friday that the fishermen had been rescued by a U.S. Navy destroyer Thursday, more than 40 days after their boat was commandeered by suspected Somali pirates in the northern Arabian Sea. The rescue came just days after Tehran warned the U.S. to keep the same group of warships out of the Persian Gulf.
“The rescue of Iranian sailors by American forces is considered a humanitarian gesture, and we welcome this behavior,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast was quoted as saying by state TV’s Al-Alam Arabic channel.
Iran’s hard-line Fars news agency had a different take, calling the rescue operation a Hollywood dramatization of a routine event.
The Associated Press
