Arrest of 3 Iranian Fishermen Near Qatar's Oil Platforms

A government official in Asaluyeh port in Bushehr province, Iran, reported that Qatari border guards arrested three fishermen from this port while they were fishing near the oil platforms of the country. According to the state news agency IRNA, Abdolhossein Bahraini, the head of fisheries in Asaluyeh, announced on Thursday, July 20, that the boat did not have a fishing permit and was seized by the Qatari coast guard 'due to violation of maritime border laws,' and its occupants were detained. He stated that officials in Asaluyeh are following up on the situation of the three detained fishermen. Asaluyeh port is located 285 kilometers south of Bushehr province. Qatari officials have not yet provided a report regarding the arrest of these three Iranian fishermen. Currently, Iran and Qatar have good relations, and after several Arab countries closed their land and sea borders to Qatar, Iran has sent thousands of tons of food to this country through Bushehr province. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Yemen, the Maldives, and Libya announced in June of this year that they had cut diplomatic relations with Qatar due to what they called the country's support for 'terrorism' or 'protection of their national security.' In response, Turkey and Iran have established special maritime and air routes for the transfer of essential goods to Qatar. Additionally, due to the prevention of Qatari flights over Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain, many of these flights are conducted over Iran. The arrest of three Iranian fishermen from Qatari coastal waters comes at a time when the issue of reciprocal arrests of Iranian and Saudi vessels has been making headlines in recent weeks. Iranian media reported on July 6 that a Saudi fishing vessel that 'entered Iranian waters' was seized by the second naval zone of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Bushehr province. The next day, Majid Aghababayi, the director general of border affairs at Iran's Ministry of Interior, announced that the four crew members detained on a Saudi vessel were Indian, and decisions regarding them would be made based on 'reciprocal behavior' by Saudi Arabia with the detained Iranian sailors. About three weeks prior, Saudi border guards had fired upon three Iranian fishing boats, resulting in the death of one fisherman and the detention of three others by Saudi forces. However, the Saudi Ministry of Interior labeled the detainees as members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and stated that they were approaching the country's Marjan oil platforms aboard an armed vessel. Iran, however, denied this accusation. Following the publication of these reports, the newspaper 'Al-Riyadh' reported on July 4 that 'Saudi security agents arrested three more Iranians three days before the terrorist operation in the Grand Mosque in Mecca.' Aladdin Boroujerdi, the head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Iranian Parliament, described this report as 'clumsy news-making' and 'media mischief.' Saudi Arabia also released five fishermen from Bushehr and Genaveh who had been detained by its naval guards last year on July 8. Relations between Tehran and Riyadh have soured following the execution of a Shia cleric in Saudi Arabia and attacks on its diplomatic missions in Iran, and the verbal conflict between the two countries has escalated following U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to Riyadh. Iran and Saudi Arabia accuse each other of interfering in their internal affairs and the region; an accusation that is denied by the other side.