TEHRAN, April 29 (Xinhua) -- Six of the 28 crew members of the Iranian container ship Touska, seized earlier this month by the United States, have been released and have returned to Iran, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Wednesday.
Efforts are underway to secure the release of the remaining crew, whom Iran describes as hostages of the "terrorist" U.S. government, Tasnim said.
The Iranian-flagged vessel was boarded and seized by U.S. forces off the coast of Iran's southeastern Chabahar port in the Gulf of Oman on April 19.
Iran condemned the seizure as a "flagrant act of piracy." The country's main military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, explained that armed forces did not intervene at the time because the crew members' families were on board.
The United States has imposed a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, preventing ships to and from Iranian ports from transiting. The blockade came into effect after Iran-U.S. negotiations in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on April 11 and 12 failed to lead to an agreement.
The talks came after a ceasefire on April 8 between Iran, the United States, and Israel halted 40 days of fighting. Enditem
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